Chuck vs The New Sarah Walker
by Charahfan44
Summary: Decided to rewrite this one. Same storyline, same Bartowski shenanigans! Revolves around Chuck and Sarah's daughter Emma, and her role in the CIA. I do not own Chuck!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know that some of you have been following this story ever since I first started writing it three years ago, and I'd like to thank you! I've been told that I'm a hard author to follow because I don't always update my stories, and I have yet to finish one, but I'll get there I promise. I have so many things running through this head of mine, and it takes me a while to sort them out and form words on a page. For those of you who are new to this particular story, welcome! This is an updated version of the whole thing, only because it was pretty choppy and the writing was completely juvenile. The storyline is the same, so you haven't missed anything! But again, thank you to my fans who always leave reviews and always stick with my stories. Enjoy this freshly written version of Chuck vs The New Sarah Walker.

-Charahfan44

* * *

Sarah Bartowski was enjoying a quiet evening in her crowded household for the first time in a long time. Between soccer games, basketball tournaments, karate, and school, she very rarely got moments like this and took complete advantage of it when she did. At fifty years of age, she wasn't at all nervous or sad that half of her life was over. She was thankful for the years she had lived. Standing in the kitchen and reflecting back on her life, she closed her eyes, picturing everything that had happened. She sipped her coffee, and heard footsteps approaching. She turned around to see her 17-year-old daughter Emma enter the room.

"Hey mom." Emma said quickly, grabbing a bottled water out of the fridge.

"Hey. I thought you were going to be studying all night?" Sarah replied with a question.

"I was, but the team invited me out so I'm gonna go." She started to exit the kitchen.

"Hang on a second." Sarah stopped her daughter before she could leave. She set down her coffee and walked up to the teenager, taking in everything about her eldest child. Emma was a 5'9", blonde haired, blue-eyed, smartass kid. She was exactly like Sarah; tough, beautiful, athletic, and determined. But she did have some of her father's traits as well; tall, big smile, great heart, was a great listener, and she was smart beyond belief.

"What?" She asked her mother.

"Where exactly are you going?"

"I don't know…just out. They didn't really say."

"It's getting late, Em." Sarah checked her watch, which had just hit the 9:30pm mark.

"Please mom? The championship game is in a few days and I need some bonding time with the team." Emma whined. She was a senior in high school, and her basketball team had made it to the championships mostly because of her. She was the tallest, the fastest, leading scorer, not to mention she was the captain of the team. Sarah knew it meant a lot to her, plus Emma never got into trouble and had great grades.

"Fine, but curfew is 11:30 tonight." Sarah agreed.

"Thanks mom! Love you!" She yelled as she exited the house. Sarah was horrible at saying "no" to her kids. She just hoped that when Jack and Jenny grew up, they would be easier to handle. So far at ten, the twins weren't hard to take care of. They were laid back, and rarely put up a fight about anything. They were both brunette, like Chuck, but had Sarah's eyes. Of course they didn't look exactly alike, but their qualities were pretty similar. If Sarah was happy, they were happy. And she was glad it was like that. If her kids were out of control, she wouldn't know how to handle it. Especially with Chuck gone all the time. Some days she hardly knew how she handled everything herself.

* * *

"Bartowski, glad I caught you." The voice of General Grace Jones echoed through the speaker system in Emma's car. "Did your mother suspect anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, I don't think so. But I barely found a good enough excuse to leave the house at nine thirty." Emma replied aloud.

"Good, let's keep it that way." Jones's voice said, clearly ignoring the second part of Emma's comment.

"Maybe next time you could give me a heads up in advance?"

"This one is important, Bartowski. Your team is waiting for you at the new base location."

"Fine. Tell them I'll be there in ten." Emma heard a click, and her boss's voice disappeared. She didn't like keeping anything from her parents, but then again, they did hide this from her. If they had only told her they had been spies, none of this would have happened. It was only two years ago now that Emma had been recruited by the General, who knew Chuck and Sarah personally. While the spies had told the general to keep their children out of it, her agreement was hollow. After recruiting the teen, the General would never tell Emma exactly what her parents did, but she did alert the new agent that they had previously worked for the CIA. Emma was now following in their footsteps, and there was nothing they could do to change that. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Emma sped up faster, reaching the new base location in a matter of minutes. She entered the abandoned building, and took the elevator down to the lowest part. It only worked if you flashed the key card and passed the retina scan by the lit-up buttons. The system recognized her, and the elevator opened quickly.

"God, it's about time." A snotty brunette said.

"Actually, I'm not God, I'm Emma. But I'm glad you think so highly of me, Jess." Emma smirked at the girl.

"She does have a point Em, we're dying here. It's been forever since Jones has sent us on a mission!" A kinder voice exclaimed.

"I know what you mean Clara, trust me, but you know my mom almost as well as I do. She barely let me go." Emma replied. Three more girls approached from the armory, and the shortest blonde handed Emma her favorite gun. The team was great. They were the best in the agency, and at the average age of eighteen they had completed more missions than any other team on active duty. General Jones dubbed them the Clandestine Attack Team 2.0, and the name suited them well. Jessica (or Jess) was a tall brunette, just one inch shorter than Emma. She was amazing at torture, getting almost anything out of the suspects she interrogated. Not to mention, she knew how to talk her way into and out of anything. Sierra was a petite red-head, but she could kill you faster than you could say "oh no". Knives were her area of expertise, as she knew which cut could either kill you the fastest or cause you to die painfully slow. Then there was Sydney, she was Emma's right hand, and they always fought as one. They had started karate together in the second grade, and they had stayed best friends ever since. Kylie was next; she handled most of the technology (ear pieces, video camera's, feedback, etc.). After Kylie was Clara (yes, Clara Woodcomb), she was Emma's cousin. Clara was great at research. She examined every single target, and every villain that they caught. She could go into their mind and find the deepest memories to help the team discover more about the person. Emma assumed she took after her mother, Ellie Woodcomb, who handled neurosurgery at the general hospital closest to them. And last but definitely not least, was Emma. She was the leader. She was the best fighter, best aim, she made every single plan, she could pick locks within seconds, but she was also the nicest. If anyone on the team had a problem, Emma was the first they went to. No one had a problem with her, they all loved their leader.

"So, Gray, what do ya got for us?" Sydney said as she saw the general pop up onto the largest screen in the room. Gray was the nickname that the girls had given the General.

"Not much I'm afraid. All I know is that this man has been targeting CIA agents for the past few months. Even the retired ones."

"Are my mom and dad in danger?" Emma asked immediately.

"They could be which is why I want you to set up a surveillance system in your house." Jones replied. Emma hated wondering if her parents had been good at what they did. She wanted to know how many successful missions they had been on, if they fell in love on a certain mission, or even how many people they killed. Were they the best just as Emma was? She would never know. Emma would never tell her parents the truth, because she didn't want to hurt them.

"Yes ma'am." Emma nodded.

"Clara, you too. Your parents have been involved before, and we need to be safe." Jones nodded towards Emma's cousin. "The rest of you will be sent to Russia, and will be targeting James Smith."

"Is that the target's name?" Jessie asked with her arms folded.

"Yes." Jones narrowed her eyes. "You have your mission, so get to it."

"Aye aye cap'n."

"Yes general."

"Got it Gray."

"Yes ma'am."

"You bet!"

"Easy peasy." They all nodded. Kylie was about to disconnect the call, but Jones spoke.

"Oh, Emma," She looked to the tall blonde, "I hear you have a game coming up, good luck." Jones smiled and disconnected. Emma laughed. The championship game was the only thing Emma had been looking forward to since the day they won the district title.

"Hey guys, please be careful." Emma said to the four girls that were headed out of the base.

"Oh please Em, we aren't going to die just because you aren't there." Jessie argued.

"Seriously, we have no clue how bad this guy is. Come back in one piece okay?" Emma wasn't joking around. This made the girls feel uneasy. Emma was very rarely serious and worried.

"No problem boss." Jessie replied. Sydney ran up to Emma and hugged her.

"I'll make sure we're all safe." She smiled as she let go. Emma nodded and smiled back, waving at her team as they disappeared. Emma sighed.

"They'll be fine, Em." Clara said behind her. Clara and Emma were the only two with parents who were tied to the agency, therefore they were required to stay behind on security detail. Older than Emma by two years, she did mostly everything on her own. She took online course at Cornell University, only to stay closer to the team.

"I know, but they're just as much my family as you are. I hate staying here, but my real family could be in danger."

"Same here. I guess we'll just have to wait until they come back. In the meantime, you have a championship on Saturday. You really should get home and sleep." Clara raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you're right." Emma laughed, "You'll be there?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, little cousin." Clara smiled as Emma walked to the elevator. The doors closed, and Emma yawned. She hadn't been getting a ton of sleep lately, but knew she needed to before the game. She exited the building a slowly walked to her car. When she finally got home, she pulled into the small driveway of her house but felt like something was wrong. She started to freak herself out, and jumped out of her car in a single movement. She bounded through the front door.

"Mom!" She yelled. Her mother appeared in front of her within a few seconds.

"What is it?" Sarah said to her daughter.

"Is everything okay in here?"

"Yeah...what's wrong with you?" Sarah frowned. Emma sighed and let her shoulders relax.

"Nothing. Sorry, I guess it's just pre-game jitters." She laughed nervously. Sarah checked her watch.

"And it's only ten thirty."

"Yeah, it got pretty boring just sitting around at Claire's." Emma started to walk away.

"So much for team bonding, huh?" Sarah pressed as Emma bounded up the stairs to her room.

"I guess so!" Emma desperately wanted to tell her mother about being a spy. But she couldn't. Not yet at least. She set up the surveillance in ten minutes, and then headed to bed. She made sure that her phone's alarm would go off if someone entered the house.

* * *

"Mom, is dad gonna miss the game?" Jenny shoved a gooey nacho in her mouth, looking at her mother who was sitting in the seat next to her. Sarah kept scanning the crowd.

"No honey, he's going to make it." Sarah sighed and looked to her son who had scarfed a whole hot dog in three seconds. She rolled her eyes, interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Are we late?" Ellie laughed at Sarah's annoyance of the twins. Sarah wasn't one for sports, but she had never missed one of Emma's games, and she had developed a love for the game of basketball.

"Aunt Ellie and Uncle Devon!" Jenny was excited to see them.

"Wow, am I chopped liver?" Clara grumbled.

"Hey look, I see Uncle Morgan and Uncle Casey!" Jack voiced. Morgan and Alex's daughter Leia trailed behind them, along with Ellie and Devon's second child Stephen in tow.

"Where's Chuck?" Morgan asked as they approached.

"I don't know. He wouldn't miss this game for the world though. He'll show up." Sarah wasn't so sure he would. She hoped that Emma wouldn't notice her father's absence. The game started a half hour later, and Emma had smiled to all of her family as she warmed up. Sarah watched as she made every shot with ease, as though it was in her DNA.

"Alright folks! Let's get this game going!" The announcer yelled after he had introduced every player. Of course, Emma's team won tip-off. Emma had scored immediately, running back to set up in 2-1-2 Zone defense. Sarah loved watching her play. Emma's face showed determination and love for the game. Sarah looked around for most of the game, still not seeing Chuck. Ellie caught Sarah's action.

"Hey, Chuck will show up. It's just like you said, he won't miss this for the world!" Ellie yelled over the roaring crowd. Sarah nervously smiled. As Emma played her heart out, she had no idea that something had gone wrong. She had no clue that in this moment, her team was calling her. In this moment, she had no idea that James Smith had taken her father.


	2. Chapter 2

It was now half time, and the two teams were tied. Every single person in the crowd was on the edge of their seat, knowing that this was going to be a close game. Emma looked up, to see her mom with her hands on her head, taking in deep breaths. She smiled, laughing at the fact that an ex member of the CIA was freaking out over a basketball game. While her coach was talking to the team, Emma untied her right shoe, and pulled a small charm off the laces. She looked to the younger kids who had now come down to the main floor to shoot baskets, and spotted her brother and sister among them.

"Give me a sec, coach." Emma said. Her coach nodded and Emma ran up to her brother.

"Emma!" He hugged her tight. "You're doing great!" He whispered in her ear.

"Thanks buddy." She smiled and let go. "I have a job for you."

"Okay!"

"I need you to give this to mom," She handed him the small basketball charm. Sarah had given it to her before her very first game when she was six and still in the peewee league. Emma had worn it on every pair of laces on her right foot ever since. "Tell her that she needs it more than I do." Emma laughed.

"Okay, I will." He smiled and started to run up to the seats.

"Oh, Jack!" She shouted and he turned around. "Tell her to stop spiraling." Her brother laughed and finished running up to the seats. Emma sprinted back over to the team's huddle.

"That was more than a second." Her coach warned.

"Sorry, what'd I miss?" She was breathing hard.

"I'm going over our offensive attack strategy, listen up." Coach went back to discussing the plays. Emma kept an ear towards Coach, but glanced up to see her mother laughing as Jack handed her the charm. Sarah looked down to Emma, who smiled and waved at her. Sarah blew her daughter a kiss and Emma shook her head, laughing. The buzzer went off, and the team got extremely close.

"We are not going to lose this game, ladies. We came here to dominate." Emma said to her team. They all nodded and Emma broke the silence of her friends. "DOMINATE ON THREE. ONE...TWO...THREE...DOMINATE!" They threw their fists down and spread out onto the court. Emma was about to finish playing the game of her life.

* * *

The four agents heading to Russia got to the airport in no time at all, as Sierra liked to speed in the 2015 Maserati.

"Could you slow down? Jeesh." Sydney whined, rubbing her now sore neck.

"You have to lean into the turns, Syd. If you try and fight them you'll just get stiff." Jessica laughed from the back.

"Gee, thanks Jess. Now that we're here, I could really put that information to good use." Sydney grunted.

"Stop fighting, we don't have time for it." Kylie's voice was heard for the first time during the entire ride.

"Sorry, mom." Jessica sassed.

"Don't make me come back there!" Sierra yelled from the driver's seat. To the normal person, they seemed like four teenagers going backpacking in Russia together, but in reality they were trained assassins at the age of nineteen and eighteen, ready for combat at all times. They had just entered Los Angeles International Airport when Sierra's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Agent Decklin, this is General Jones."

"Oh hey, General. What's up?"

"I have some bad news."

"What?"

"James Smith has captured Chuck Bartowski."

"Wait a second general! You're saying that this murderer has our leader's dad?" Sierra yelled into the phone. The team gave her warning looks, as civilians around them stared.

"Our department just received a disc with multiple ransom videos, and he was in one, yes."

"General, Emma is in the middle of her game. What are we supposed to do?"

"Do you think she's more worried about high school or her father's life?"

"We should let her finish, and then grab her."

"That's not the order." The General was firm.

"She's going to be pissed."

"Let her be upset, but get her to the base. If you wait any longer, it could be too late." Jones hung up and Sierra turned to the team.

"Guys, we have to go get Emma." They all rushed out of the airport, not taking their flight to Russia.

"Wait, who has Emma's dad?" Jessie asked as they got into the car.

"Smith, the crazy guy that's been killing all agents in cold blood." Sierra slammed on the gas, and sped off towards the stadium.

"Why can't we let Emma finish her game? This is really important to her…" Sydney trailed.

"I get that, but Jones gave us an order. We can't exactly ignore an order given by a five star general." Sierra retorted.

"Okay, but she isn't going to be happy."

"Someone call her, or call Clara. Just call one of them!" The girls would do anything for Emma, and they were going to help her find her father. First, they needed to get her.

* * *

"It all comes down to this! A minute left on the clock, the score 72-70, the Burbank Warriors have the ball!" The announcer yelled excitedly. The other team had called a full time out, and Emma could feel the pressure. She wasn't used to trailing behind on the scoreboard, but at least her team had the ball.

"Okay, they're going to press us but we need to be quicker than that. Once we break the press, take the ball slowly down court, and look for Emma for the three." The coach said.

"Wait a second, coach. You want me to take a three-pointer? Why not just drive it in? Overtime isn't a bad thing." Emma argued.

"Just stick to the plan, Bartowski." Coach snapped at her. Emma sighed and suddenly got extremely nervous. If she missed, they would lose. They were only down by two, and tying the game seemed like the best option. But, Emma didn't argue. They set up for their press break, and broke the opposing team's press immediately. Kayla Jenkins brought the ball down slowly, looking for Emma on the wing. Ten seconds were left on the clock and the entire crowd went silent as Emma's hands grasped the pass.

"Emma Bartowski for the three-pointer and the win!" The announcer shouted. Suddenly, Emma's CIA team rushed into the stadium. Their eyes were huge, and they looked worried. Emma immediately signaled for a time-out, and the entire crowd erupted _into what is she doing?_ and _what the heck just happened?_ Emma bounded out of the gym and into the locker room, not worrying about telling anyone why she was leaving the court. She was sweaty and red-faced when she met up with her team.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled at them.

"Look Emma, we know you're mad, but something happened before we got on the plane." Sydney tried to explain.

"Well it better be the best 'something' I've ever heard. We were about to win the freaking state championship!" Emma was as livid as her coach had been.

"Emma, Smith has your dad." Clara whispered from behind her. She had come from the stands. Emma caught her breath for a moment, and then let a few words escape her mouth.

"Okay, that's a pretty good something." She wouldn't cry in front of her team. She needed to be the strong one.

"We're going to do everything we can Emma. Jones is making this a top priority." Sierra stated. Emma felt so guilty; she was so busy playing her game that she didn't even notice her father's absence. He was her biggest fan, and she was too big for her britches to notice.

"Emma, it isn't your fault..." Jess was sympathetic for once.

"Yeah, how could you have known?" Kylie chipped in.

"Guys, I don't need friends right now. I need agents to help me find my dad. Let's head to the base and figure everything out from there." Emma said.

"You got it, boss." Sydney smiled. Emma had to crack a smile back, and then she snuck out of the stadium with her team. It didn't take any longer than 20 minutes for them to get to the base and they immediately entered the main space where the communication screen was located.

"Good, you're all here." Jones's face popped up on the main screen in front of them.

"Where else would we be?" Kylie laughed, trying to make light of the current situation.

"I think we need to call in the big guns." Jess said to the general on the screen.

"I agree, this is too much for just us." Kylie nodded.

"Where's Bartowski?" Jones asked, scanning the faces in front of her.

"I think she's in the armory preparing for whatever we have to do, Gray. She's taking this really hard." Sydney replied.

"If you think this is too much, who do you suggest we call?" Jones raised her eyebrows.

"The original Clandestine Attack Team. If we're 2.0, then there was obviously a team before us." Emma entered the room, loading her magazine with bullets as she did so. She clicked the mag into her gun and looked to the screen. She had changed out of her uniform, and into her dark skinny jeans, blue tank top, black leather jacket, and black converse.

"What?" Everyone said in unison.

"Their file speaks for itself." She plopped a manila folder onto the metal table in front of the screen. "They had over 700 completed missions, they were feared by even the toughest CIA Agents, and they were badass." Emma said.

"How in the hell did you get the file?" Jones erupted. "You had no access to those files!"

"It's called hacking, general. Maybe you should get your guys to be a little more careful." Emma spat.

"Emma, you can't talk to a general like that…" Sierra interrupted.

"I just did." Emma shot her teammate an icy glare.

"They are not going to be assigned to this mission." The general knew something but wouldn't say it.

"Well, luckily for us, they aren't apart of the CIA anymore, which gives them full approval to come work under the table. Besides, I already called one of them. Zondra, if I remember correctly." Emma replied.

"What! Are you out of your mind? You are suspended from this mission, Bartowski. Do you hear me?" The general shouted. Everyone except Emma winced.

"Denied. I'm sticking to this mission whether you like it or not." Emma spat. She left the room immediately, and the team stared at the general.

"Get her under control. However, be cautious when the C.A.T. Squad shows up. They're dangerous." General Jones warned.

"C.A.T Squad?" Clara asked.

"That's what they were known as. Much shorter than having to say Clandestine Attack Team." Jones explained. "Just make sure Bartowski stays put." The girls nodded and disconnected the call.

"What the heck is happening to Emma?" Sierra asked.

"My Uncle Morgan says that her mom used to get like this when something bad happened to Chuck." Clara said.

"Well, it's scary. We need to name it something." Jessie laughed.

"My Uncle called her 'The Giant Blonde She-Male.'" Clara laughed aloud.

"Giant Blonde She-Male sounds perfect for this version of Emma. I'm actually kinda scared." Sydney said. The rest of them agreed and hurriedly got to work in anticipation of the C.A.T Squad's return to the agency.

* * *

As Sarah exited the stadium with the twins trailing behind her, she clutched the charm that Emma had sent to her in the stands. Maybe if she had been wearing it, this wouldn't have happened. She wondered why her daughter had left the stadium in the middle of a shot, especially during thee state championship game.

"Uh, Sarah?" Morgan's voice interjected her thoughts.

"Morgan? What is it?"

"Carina and Zondra." He nodded to a black Porsche a few yards away. Sarah squinted, making out the features and shapes of her old friends.

"Will you take the twins for me?" She didn't look away from the two women standing outside of the car.

"Yeah, of course. Take as much time as you need. Something tells me this is important." He replied.

"Thank you so much, Morgan." Sarah said with no tone whatsoever.

"I'll take good care of them." He smiled as Jack and Jenny got into his and Alex's big van along with his own child.

"Just please don't let them stay up late." Sarah broke her gaze from her old team, and narrowed her eyes, remembering the last time Morgan had brought them home from a sleepover at his house. They had gotten no sleep, and were being fueled by pure sugar. Morgan promised he wouldn't, leaving Sarah to greet her friends.

"What's the deal?" Sarah asked Carina immediately. Carina and Zondra shared a look, not certain if they should jump right ahead and tell her.

"Promise you won't freak?" Carina asked.

"Uh, not now that you've said that." Sarah started to worry. Was this about Emma?

"Well...uh, Walker..." Carina started.

"Spit it out!" Sarah yelled at the red-head.

"Some crazy guy has been killing existing and retired CIA Agents, and his latest capture was your husband." Zondra blurted. Sarah looked at them blankly without saying a word. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back and took a deep breath.

"I have to find him." She said.

"We know. That's why we're here." Carina said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"We got a call from an agent who's working on the case. General Beckman's replacement is her boss, and her entire team is the best the CIA has now, or so she said." Zondra explained.

"Top agents? How good are they?" Sarah wasn't convinced that these people could help her find Chuck.

"Well, apparently they're the new C.A.T's. And the girl Z talked to is better than you were." Carina laughed.

"I doubt it." Sarah's voice was flat.

"Yeah, and the best part is that none of them are older than nineteen!"

"Kids? They have _kids_ trying to find Chuck?" Sarah's voice rose.

"They wouldn't be agents if they couldn't handle themselves, Walker."

"We're going to show them what real agents look like. Let's go." The three of them got into the car, and sped off to the location they were given.

* * *

Emma wasted no time in getting everything ready for the mission. New information had come in from General Jones, and they now had a solid lead for Smith's location. She couldn't wait for old retired agents to get there, who was Jones kidding? These crappy elderly agents wouldn't know the sky from the ground, and she needed to find her father now.

"Emma, just wait until they get here. They'll know what to do first." Sydney entered Emma's room of operation.

"Oh, so you doubt me now?" Emma yelled at her best friend. Sydney yelled right back.

"Good lord, Emma! Why don't you get your head out and see that we're trying to help you!" She screamed. Emma hung her head.

"Sorry Syd, I just really want to find him." Emma sat down in a chair to her left, and rested her head into her hands.

"I know, but there's not much good you can do at the moment. Wait until the adults come to help. You aren't Superwoman, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Guys! They're here!" Sierra exclaimed, rushing into the room.

"Great." Emma moaned. Sierra was extremely excited to meet the former CIA agents, as the file told wonders. Emma wasn't about to let someone else come in and run her mission, so she got up, and followed Sydney out to the main part of the building. The four other girls were surrounding three women. Sydney and Emma came up behind them, with their arms folded.

"I hope you know this is my team." Emma said rudely. "I call the shots, and don't forget that I called you." Her eyes widened as one of the women turned around faster than the others did.

"Emma?" The woman exclaimed.

"Mom?" Emma unfolded her arms and her jaw dropped. Her mother had been a part of the original C.A.T. Squad?

"Wow, this'll be interesting." Carina smirked and nudged Sarah playfully. The mission had just gotten a bit trickier.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Man, this rewrite process is harder than I thought! I just hope that this updated version is a bit better for you guys. I'm taking the same approach so I know a few of you will still be upset with my main ideas, but I'll have to live with that. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

The mother/daughter duo spent an uncomfortably long amount of time staring at each other, as everyone else watched the excruciating exchange.

"Did you just say _your_ team?" Sarah was first to break the silence.

"I did." Emma replied shortly.

"I guess now we know why Gray didn't want them here." Jess voiced sarcastically.

"Yeah, totally crazy that your mom was a C.A.T." Sydney added.

"Actually, she was pretty much our leader." Zondra corrected.

"Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the proverbial tree eh, Walker?" Carina laughed.

"Uh, we'll give you guys a minute." Sydney led everyone out of the main room, to show them around.

"You're a spy." Sarah said as a statement. All Emma could do was nod. "How long?"

"Almost three years."

"And you didn't really think it was a good idea to tell us?" Sarah demanded.

"Well, you obviously didn't think that I was trustworthy enough to tell me _you_ were a spy. So no, I didn't." Emma retorted.

"That's unfair." Sarah replied.

"Really? It's unfair for me to keep something from you but you're allowed to keep secrets from me? I thought we said no secrets, mom." Emma's voice rose.

"You really think that a dinner table discussion about the CIA would've been a good idea?" Sarah asked with a bit of guilt in her voice.

"Look, we just need to forget about this and get to work. We can talk later."

"No Emma, we're going to talk now."

"I'm your boss at the moment, and I'm giving you an order. Get to work." Emma commanded. She started to leave the room, but Sarah grabbed her arm.

"I'm still your mother. We aren't finished until I say so." Sarah glared at her daughter and used the mommy-voice.

"Then get out of my base." Emma ripped her arm away, and stalked off to find her team.

"Wow, she is exactly like you." Zondra walked in the room, just as Emma stormed past her.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sarah replied. "Do you think that I should have told her?"

"I don't have kids, so I really wouldn't know." The brunette shrugged.

"I screwed up, I get it."

"Look, Walker, I actually think you're the one who got it right. You get to go home to a husband and kids who all love you. The rest of us are stuck with an empty apartment funded by the CIA. I would trade places with you in a heartbeat, trust me." Sarah had never heard anything like this out of her old partner in crime. Zondra always seemed exactly like Carina, unsympathetic and edgy.

"Thank you, Z."

"Anytime."

* * *

The first day hadn't exactly been easy with the bickering of the Bartowski's in the room. Sarah had a hard time taking orders from her daughter, especially because the teen shouldn't have been recruited in the first place. Emma on the other hand, thought she knew everything and was making all of the right calls. They slept in separate rooms of the base, only because neither of them knew how to talk to each other at this point. Emma woke up the next morning to the sound of a paper bag being set down on the table a few inches away from her cot. Her eyes opened slowly, to reveal her mother placing a fast food bag on the metal surface.

"Just thought you might be hungry." She was trying to break the awkwardness between them. Emma gave her a faint smile.

"Thanks." Emma rubbed her eyes, slowly getting up from where she had slept the previous night. Sarah awkwardly lingered in the room, unsure of how to start a real conversation.

"Are you planning on creeping on me all day?" Emma asked.

"No. Maybe. I don't know." Sarah couldn't make up her mind.

"I have a lot of work to do, mom. I can't keep arguing with you and worrying about if I'm doing my job well enough."

"That's what you're worried about? Impressing me?"

"No, I'm worried about losing dad." The words escaped Emma's mouth with ease. Sarah placed both hands on her daughter's shoulders, and looked her dead in the eye.

"We are _not_ going to lose him. Your father is a great spy, he will be fine. And this isn't all up to you, we have two teams here for a reason. Those girls in there would die for you Emma, let them help you."

"I just feel like this is my fault. I was so worried about a stupid basketball game…" And with that, Emma broke down. Sarah hugged her close, letting her child cry into her.

"You couldn't have known. I have a few years on you, honey, and I didn't even realize something was wrong."

"Don't say anything about this, okay?" Emma let go of Sarah and wiped her eyes.

"I would never." Sarah smiled and wiped away the few remaining tears with her thumbs.

"Can I ask a question?" Emma asked, digging into the food in front of her.

"Always." Sarah had started typing away at the computer to the left, trying to catch a lead in the mission.

"Why didn't you tell me? I get why you didn't say anything when I was younger, but I'm almost eighteen now." It wasn't that she really cared about knowing her parents were spies, but her mother was basically her best friend. They told each other everything.

"I honestly didn't think that this would happen, Em. When your dad and I quit, we made sure that you and your siblings wouldn't ever be recruited."

"Then why was I?"

"That's something I will be asking your general."

"So I was supposed to have a normal life?"

"I hate to break it to you, Emma, but you never would've had a normal life." Sarah let out a chuckle.

"Why did you guys quit?"

"Emma! Kylie found something!" Sydney burst into the room, waving her hands excitedly. Emma and Sarah followed her into the technology room, and stared at some coordinates on a medium-sized computer screen. Everyone was gathered around the screen, eager for the results.

"Chuck activated his tracker a few minutes ago, but I think Smith knew because we lost the signal a few minutes after." Kylie explained while typing away.

"So what's the good news?" Sarah asked.

"We have the coordinates to the location of his tracker. We know where he's headed."

"Where is it?" Emma demanded.

"Well, if you had any patience at all, you'd be able to wait a few seconds for me to tell you." Kylie rolled her eyes and the rest of the team laughed. A small box popped up onto the screen, and Kylie clicked the zoom. "There's a warehouse for fruit packaging a few miles ahead of where your dad activated his tracking device."

"They're hiding in plain sight." Emma murmured.

"Okay, we're going to contact Jones and see what the deal is." Jessie said.

"No." Emma cut her off.

"Uh, what? Jones is the boss here, Emma." Jessie argued.

"Last time I checked, I was in charge. We aren't waiting to talk to Jones, we're leaving now." Emma demanded.

"Whoa there, little Walker." Carina cut in. "I agree with your buddy here. You can't just go in there without a plan. Wait to hear your orders."

"If you want to stay here and wait, be my guest. I'll go alone if I have to." Emma started out of the room.

"Emma, you aren't going alone." Sarah spoke and Emma turned to face her. "Because I'm going with you." Emma nodded at her mother, and they walked to the armory side by side.

"We need a plan." Sarah started to worry about her decision to follow her daughter's rule breaking.

"Don't worry mom, I have one." Emma tucked her gun behind her back and Sarah did the same.

"Okay then, let's go." They left the armory, but were stopped by the others.

"Oh no you don't." Zondra spoke.

"Yeah, you really think we'd let you go alone Emma?" Sierra smiled.

"No, I just didn't think it would take you this long to make up your minds." Emma smiled back.

"We may not agree with your choice to keep Gray in the dark, but we'll help you get your dad back no matter what." Jess added.

"Then let's get going."

* * *

"Okay, there are two main buildings from what I can tell." Kylie's voice rang through the earpiece.

"So which one has Chuck?" Sarah replied with a whisper.

"I have no idea..." Kylie replied.

"I guess we need to split up then." Emma concluded. "Zondra, Carina, and mom...you take the left building. Sierra, Sydney, Jessie, and I will take the right." The teams split up, but Sarah and Emma stayed where they were.

"Look mom, I know you're an ex agent, but please be careful." Emma sighed.

"The same goes for you." Sarah replied to her daughter.

"Walker, let's go!" Carina urged over the earpiece.

"Emma, c'mon!" Sydney did the same. Emma hugged her mother close, and then pulled away, joining her team. She held her gun up, ready to shoot at any suspects.

"Hey, look." Jessie nodded towards a bright yellow door attached to the back of the building.

"Looks like the perfect place to hide an agent." Emma nodded. They entered slowly, being greeted by a hallway with multiple doors on each side.

"Got anything, Kylie?" Sierra said into her earpiece.

"No, I don't see anything. You're gonna have to check each one." Kylie sighed.

"Don't worry about it, you've helped us a lot already." Emma tried to sound reassuring. "Did you shut down the cameras?"

"Yeah, that was easy!" Kylie laughed.

"Okay, Syd you come with me and check the right side. Sierra and Jessie, go check the left." They all nodded and started to go their separate ways. Sierra opened the first left door without any problem. However, the first door on the right was locked.

"You got this Emma?" Sydney asked.

"Oh yeah." Emma smiled and took a small lock pick off her shoe. She always kept one strapped to the bottom. Lock picking was her favorite, and she was the best. They searched all six rooms on the right side of the hallway, but Chuck wasn't in any of them.

"Anything?" Emma asked as Jessie and Sierra came out of their last room.

"Emma! We need help over here!" Sarah's voice immediately filled the girls' ears. The four of them rushed to the opposite building to find the three ex-agents battling with six guards. Emma watched in amazement as her mother kicked ass. When the first six guards were out, the two teams joined.

"God mom, if I knew you could do this, I probably would've taken your threats more seriously growing up." Emma said excitedly. Sarah laughed at her daughter.

"You should always take my threats seriously." Sarah was serious but playful at the same time. Emma nodded with a smile, and the continued through the building. After taking out sixteen more guards, they reached a very ominous door. "You definitely have some moves of your own." Sarah and Emma walked down the hallway side by side, guns at the ready.

"Years of training will do that to ya."

"It looks like they've been using that room a lot lately." Kylie said through the earpiece.

"How can you tell?" Emma said.

"The keycard actions date to about seventeen times a day." They entered, and found a cement room. Nothing was in it, except for the bloodstains on the ground. Emma's eyes focused on a large shape in the middle; a man strapped to a chair and blindfolded.

"Chuck!" Sarah cried and ran over to the chair.

"Sarah?" Chuck asked warily. They kissed while his blindfold was still on, and then Sarah removed it.

"We'll go check and see if there's anyone outside." Zondra whispered to Emma. Emma nodded and the team disappeared.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Sarah said, while untying Chuck. He did a double take in Emma's direction.

"Emma?" He was confused.

"Yeah dad, it's me." Emma took a deep breath.

"What are you doing here?" He looked to Sarah.

"I just found out too." Sarah said to him.

"Just found out what?" He kept his focus on his daughter.

"I'm a spy, dad." When he was fully untied, he walked up to his daughter with Sarah trailing behind.

"What do you mean, you're a spy?"

"Look dad, I-" But Chuck cut his daughter off with a huge hug. As Emma looked over his shoulder, she could see her mother having the same confused expression as her.

"I'm glad you're okay." He released her, and they all heard a gunshot.

"Emma!" Chuck and Sarah both screamed for their daughter at the same time, as she dropped to the ground. Sydney was revealed, as her friend fell. A smoking gun was in her hand.

"Sorry Em, but that was for the best." Sydney said. After the words left her mouth, she ran out of the room.

"Emma, Emma, c'mon you have to stay with us." Sarah cradled her daughter's head in her hands. Emma coughed and sat up, revealing a bulletproof vest underneath her black leather jacket.

"I'm okay mom that just kinda hurt a little." Emma joked.

"You sound like your father." Sarah looked to Chuck who smiled.

"Why the hell would Sydney betray us?"

"Who knows? Right now we should just work on getting out of here." The three exchanged looks, and exited the cold cement room. They found the rest of the team unconscious on the other side of the door, each spread out in the hallway. They woke up slowly, with the help of all three Bartowski's.

"Emma! It was Sydney! She came out of nowhere." Jess exclaimed as Emma helped her up.

"What I don't get is why she didn't kill us." Kylie added, waking up from her haze.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too. She had ample opportunity." Zondra agreed.

"I really think that we should focus on getting out of here." Sarah brought the attention back to the situation they were currently in.

"I agree with momma spy. Let's get out of here." Sierra chimed in. The two teams left the building in a hurry, making sure to get out safely.

"You know we have a lot to talk about." Sarah whispered to Emma in the truck.

"Yeah, and we will."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I know this is a short one, but not all chapters have to be long. I find that sometimes the shorter chapters have more meaning than the drawn out ones. So here's to the short but sweet!**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

"So, how much do you know?" Sarah asked her daughter. They were in the living room of their house; Chuck and Sarah were sitting on the very sturdy coffee table, while Emma was sitting on the couch. Jack and Jenny were still with Morgan and Alex.

"Nothing. Nobody would tell me anything, especially Jones. You weren't like, double agents were you?" Emma asked. Sarah sighed and shared a glance with Chuck.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Sarah asked.

"I want to know." Emma replied without hesitating. Sarah nodded softly.

"It all started with my dad really. He was a con man, and he showed me the ropes."

"You helped him?"

"I was a kid, I thought everything was just one big adventure."

"So how did you get recruited?"

"My father was arrested when I was sixteen, which led the director at the time to believe I would be a valuable asset. He found me in the woods behind my house, trying to leave. But he offered me a spot in the agency and I took it."

"You were sixteen?" Emma asked.

"Yep, sixteen." Sarah nodded. "My dad wasn't necessarily a bad guy, he did love me, but he had a hard time showing it."

"Is that why I've never met him?"

"Yes."

"How old were you dad?" Emma looked to Chuck.

"Twenty-Six." He coughed. Emma's eyes widened.

"That old?"

"Twenty-Six is not old." He argued.

"For the spy game it is."

"There's a lot more to my story than hers." He laughed and nodded in his wife's direction.

"Like what?" Emma wanted to know everything.

"After joining the CIA, I was bossed around by Director Graham for a few years. I eventually joined the C.A.T. Squad, but that broke off after I thought Zondra had been a double agent. So, I came back to work solo, but I was assigned a handler. His name was Kieran Ryker and I thought he was a good person, but he turned out to be rogue. He wanted me to deliver a baby to him after capturing it so he could kill her, but I couldn't. So, I gave the baby to my mom and she took care of her." Sarah laughed at the look on Emma's face.

"Molly? My aunt Molly?"

"Yes, your aunt Molly." Sarah smiled at Chuck, who squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"What happened after that?" Emma was eager to hear more.

"I had to leave and never see my mom again, to keep her and Molly safe. After that all went down, Graham gave me my first solo assignment." She looked at her husband. "Someone had the Intersect, and it was my job to find that person."

"You were the Intersect's original handler?"

"You know about the Intersect?" Chuck asked before Sarah could.

"Of course I do! Every agent has to know about the very first intersect! It's in the books that we're required to read."

"What exactly do you know?" Sarah was curious.

"Well, obviously not his location or anything. But, I know it was a man. From what the books say, he was super talented, and he was smart too. The general before Jones would never stop talking about him. She said he was the best spy she had ever seen. Even the time he didn't have the intersect, she said that he saved her butt more times than she could count." Emma seemed excited about the first intersect, and this made Chuck smile.

"What would you do if I told you you've met him?" Chuck asked.

"Please don't tell me it's Uncle Morgan…"

"I'm the intersect, Emma." He said. Emma stopped breathing.

"Honey? You okay?" Sarah waved her free hand in front of Emma's face.

"You two were the forbidden love affair? You guys were the top agents?" Emma exploded with excitement. "You guys are legends!" She jumped up.

"Legends?" Sarah looked at her as she had been exaggerating.

"That doesn't even begin to really describe it!"

"Really?" Chuck was proud of himself. He had made the books?

"Yeah! You guys had like, over 600 completed missions, and you were bad ass too." Emma laughed.

"We didn't get there overnight though, Em. We almost quit a few times." Sarah told her daughter.

"Why?"

"Because we were in love, but didn't know how to say it. And when we found someone else, the other one would get so jealous that a few people almost died." Chuck said.

"And some actually did." Sarah added. This sparked yet another question from the teen.

"How many people have you guys killed?" Emma suddenly turned serious. Chuck and Sarah definitely weren't ready for this one. Sarah especially.

"Well uh, I've only had to kill one guy. He was about to kill your mother." Chuck flashed back to the bridge incident with agent Daniel Shaw.

"You didn't pass your red test?" Emma asked.

"I faked it, but that's a whole other story."

"Oh...well, what about you mom?" Emma didn't want to know the answer.

"I was a different person back then Emma. One that I don't like to remember."

"That didn't answer my question."

"I don't really know." Sarah was being honest.

"So it's a pretty big number."

"Yeah."

"I get it, really, I do. I'm not even eighteen and I've already had to…" She stopped talking when she noticed the look on her parents' faces.

"What else do you want to know?" Chuck switched subjects.

"How did you guys get together?"

"When I found him, I posed as a newcomer to town, and asked him to show me around."

"And there I was, completely stunned by this incredible woman who happened to be totally out of my league." They smiled at each other.

"After our first fake date, I had to tell him who I really was, which led to me becoming his handler and everything just kinda went from there."

"So if you guys were able to be together and work at the same time, why'd you quit?"

"Quinn." Sarah said flatly.

"Who?"

"I lost my memories."

"What?"

"Sarah, maybe we shouldn't-"

"No, tell me." Emma cut him off, holding eye contact with her mother.

"Okay, fine. I'll start from the beginning."

* * *

Things went somewhat back to normal after the Bartowski clan had talked everything out. Sarah was still having a hard time adjusting to the fact her daughter was an agent of the CIA. Thinking about her own problems and challenges with the agency, she couldn't help but think that the same change would happen to Emma. She had been on a number of missions in the months following the incident with James Smith, and it was taking a toll on her personal life. Her grades were slipping and she wasn't mentally at her birthday party that the family had thrown just a few weeks prior.

"Hey, I thought I told you to grab the popcorn?" Sarah entered the kitchen, noticing a spaced-out Emma staring blankly at the microwave.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired I guess."

"Jones needs to stop giving you back to back missions, Emma."

"You and I both know that it doesn't work that way."

"Well, it should." Sarah grumbled.

"I'm gonna be okay, mom. This is what I do now."

"I used to think the same thing, but eventually I knew that the long hours weren't the best for me."

"When I get to that point, I'll let you know." Emma's phone started to buzz in her back pocket. She pulled out her iPhone6, and answered.

"Hello?" She used her head and shoulder to keep the phone from falling, as she pulled the now finished bag of popcorn out of the microwave.

"Agent Bartowski. We have an emergency." Jones' voice sounded from the other line.

"You promised I had the night off!" Emma exclaimed. Sarah looked to Emma as she grabbed the popcorn out of her hands. Emma now used her right hand to hold the phone.

"I know, but this is important."

"How important?"

"Important enough to gather the whole team. Stop asking questions and get down here."

"Whatever." Emma hung up and looked at Sarah, who hadn't moved. The look they shared explained everything.

"No, you promised." Sarah frowned.

"I know, and I don't want to go. But you know how it is mom, an order is an order. I'm sorry." Emma grabbed her keys and left, trying to force Sarah's disappointed look out of her mind. It had been four months since her parents had found out she was a spy. Emma was now eighteen, and only had a few more weeks of school left before she graduated. Everything was going great, except for the fact that she had more missions than ever. She had to talk to Jones, she needed to spend more time with her family.

* * *

Everyone was silent at first, missing Sydney. But, she had betrayed them all. Still, they couldn't help but feel as if their best friend had died. Especially Emma. Jones was sending them on a new mission already, and she was debriefing them now.

"Ryan Pierce is the target." Jones said.

"What does he have to do with anything, except for being as hot as the sun itself?" Kylie asked the general as the frat boy looking teen's picture popped up on the main screen.

"There's no time to fool around." Jones snapped.

"Kylie's right. Why are we targeting him?" Emma defended her friend.

"His father is Rick Pierce."

"The arms dealer?"

"One in the same. He is about to make a huge missile deal with China, and we have to get close to him. Ryan is always seen at this club." Jones flashed another picture onto the screen.

"The Lucky Lemur?" The girls said in unison.

"Yes, I have made fake ID's for you all, so you will be able to get in without a problem." Jones disappeared without any further instruction.

"Looks like we're gonna be having fun tonight!" Kylie laughed.

"Yeah, but who gets Mr. Hottie?" Jessie asked. Everyone looked at each other.

"Emma." Once again they were in unison.

"Me?" Emma asked.

"Uh, yeah. You are the leader of this team. Plus, you know that you had the absolute best scores in seduction school." Clara laughed. It only took them a half hour to get ready, and then they were off. The general had been right, they had gotten into the club without a problem. Sarah had called, and Emma couldn't tell her where they were. The mother was not happy at all, but it was a mission so she didn't bug her daughter about it too much. Loud EDM music was playing as the team entered, and they immediately split up.

"He's at the bar." Kylie's voice rang through Emma's ear.

"Copy that." Emma started over to her mark. She had on a skin-tight black dress, which had a very wide opening in the back to expose her toned shoulders and muscular back. Her stud earrings and black platform heels completed the outfit. She had very little makeup on, and her hair was loosely curled.

"Martini please." She told the bartender as sat down next to Pierce. The bartender stared at her as if she were stupid. She rolled her eyes, and flashed him her ID.

"Age sure treats you well." He winked at her. She frowned back at him with disgust.

"He's right, you don't look a day over twelve." Said a voice from her right. Ryan Pierce had amazing blue eyes, brown "McDreamy" hair (Emma would never admit to watching "Grey's Anatomy"), and a smile that could melt your soul. He had the whole Channing Tatum black-leather-jacket-with-grey-shirt-underneath thing going on. His dark jeans fit him perfect, and his brand new looking grey Vans shoes stood out.

"I'm Ryan." He laughed, holding out his hand.

"Emma." She replied, shaking his outstretched hand. She hadn't even realized that she had just given him her real name.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I wasn't sure if I was going to keep Ryan Pierce in my story. But after thinking about it, he's an important part of my storyline, so I'm going to leave him in here! It's always nice to be able to add your own characters and spice things up a bit. Thanks again to my fans, who are always so supportive!**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

The club had certainly started attracting more and more people, getting louder with each body that entered. Emma had lost all train of thought while talking to Ryan Pierce. She had far surpassed the demanding art of seduction when it came to training purposes, but here she was failing miserably in person.

"Emma huh? Fits your personality." Ryan said to her. The blonde snapped back into focus.

"Emma! What did you just do?" Jessie blurted through the earpiece.

"I don't really know." Emma mumbled to her partner.

"What'd you say?" Ryan looked at her. Why was she forgetting all of the rules?

"Uh, nothing." She recovered. "You don't know anything about my personality."

"I can read people. Call it a gift if you want." He smiled, and Emma felt herself melting.

"Well then, what does your gift say about me?"

"That you definitely don't want a martini." Ryan said as the bartender set it down in front of Emma.

"Oh really? Then what do I want?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Probably a coke." He raised an eyebrow, searching for approval.

"Maybe I'm a Pepsi girl." Emma teased.

"Are you?"

"You'll never know." Emma started to get up from her seat at the bar.

"You're leaving already?" Ryan asked. Her hold on him was already strong.

"I have to go before you find out too much about me."

"Why is that?"

"Because what fun would it be for you to know everything all at once?" She winked and left the bar, not looking back once.

* * *

Sarah paced in front of the main door to the house. She had ordered Chuck to use his hacking skills, and tap into Emma's security system. She had it wired all around the house to monitor her family, but she also had synced it to her phone as a tracking device.

"Sarah, honey, would you please stop pacing? You're going to make me dizzy." Chuck laughed.

"Why the hell would a general send her to a club? This woman needs to be fired! Emma isn't of age!" Sarah flung her hands around angrily.

"I'm guessing it was pretty important to the mission." Chuck tried to reason with his wife.

"Important to the mission, my ass." Sarah grumbled. Suddenly, the door opened.

"You guys waiting up for me or something?" Emma asked as she entered.

"You bet." Chuck replied. He and Sarah were now standing side by side, directly in front of their eldest child.

"Uh, okay." Emma closed the door. "Am I in trouble?"

"The answer to that question would be yes." Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"Can I ask what I would be in trouble for?" Emma looked genuinely confused.

"You were at a club! And you're only eighteen!"

"How did you know I was at a club?" Emma frowned.

"Uh..." Chuck wouldn't answer.

"Did you hack into my system?" Emma yelled at her parents.

"Of course we did." Sarah smirked. Emma hated smirkers.

"You do realize that you broke into government property." Emma ran up to her room and immediately checked her computer. "And you changed my password." She stated, her parents now behind her.

"Yeah, have fun with that." Sarah laughed. Emma looked up at her mother condescendingly.

"Please mom," She typed away, "Done." She unlocked her computer within seconds. Chuck's eyes widened. "I'm half nerd, half spy. You really think that would've been hard? Especially since I'm more towards the nerd side." She scoffed. Sarah glared at her husband and left the room.

"Wha-? Sarah!" Chuck yelled to her as she left. He turned back to his daughter. "I'm going to be in trouble just for passing my genes on to you."

"Well, she picked you dad. She knew what she was getting herself into." Emma smiled. Chuck smiled back.

"Promise me you weren't drinking." He raised his eyebrows.

"Scouts honor." Emma put her hands up innocently. "Unless you count a Coke as drinking."

"Your mom's just worried about you."

"I know, but she needs to learn to trust me. I'm a spy, not an irresponsible teenager."

"Maybe you should talk to her, clear the air?"

"I'll let her sleep on it and talk to her tomorrow."

"Get some sleep, would you?" Chuck smiled at his daughter.

"I'll try my hardest." She smiled back as her father left the room. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be getting much sleep, for once she had someone on her mind.

* * *

The Pierce household wasn't anything special. A light blue outside with fading gutters and paint, with an inside that was clearly inhabited by men. No clean dishes, an overflowing garbage, and dirty clothes all over bedroom floors. Ryan knew that his father wasn't the most angelic man alive, but he was his father and he loved him no matter what. Rick Pierce was a hard man to get emotion from, but Ryan knew that the love was there. Just like this morning, Ryan was always woken up by his father.

"Where were you last night?" A rough voice woke Ryan up.

"The club." He replied through his pillow.

"Why were you back so late?"

"I'm always back late."

"Not that late. So tell me the truth."

"I met someone." Ryan rolled over to face his father.

"Who?"

"God dad, take a chill pill." Rick Peirce got in his son's face.

"Tell me who you met." He said through clenched teeth.

"Some girl named Emma."

"Emma what?" Rick wasn't the best dad in the world.

"I didn't catch her last name." Ryan groaned. He had drunk a little too much, and his father wasn't helping.

"Be careful around the people you meet, son. They could be the ones who killed your mother." Rick left the room. Ryan was pretty sure Emma hadn't killed his mother. But he was sure that he hadn't gotten a number, so he was making it his mission to find her.

* * *

"Really Jessie, give it a rest." Emma sighed through her iPhone6.

"Seriously Emma! He was totally into you!" Jessie's voice echoed through the other line. Emma entered the kitchen, still in her purple plaid pajama pants and white tank top. She hadn't done anything to her hair, yet it was still perfectly curled and it hung just beneath her shoulders. She even reminded herself of her mother.

"I doubt that." Emma laughed. Jack and Jenny were pretend fighting with plastic swords, and Sarah was standing over sizzling bacon with a spatula in hand. "Look, I gotta go Jess. And I'm off today, so leave me alone." She added with a smile. Sarah turned around to look at her.

"You got it boss." Jessie hung up. Emma turned her phone off, and set it on the marble island counter in the middle of the medium sized kitchen. The twins blew past her, stabbing each other as they went.

"Morning." Sarah said to her shortly.

"Mom, really? Can we skip past the whole I'm-pissed-at-you-and-will-give-you-the-silent-treatment-until-you-apologize routine?" Emma asked with a whine.

"You shouldn't have been at a club. Spy or not, you could've gotten caught."

"With a government ID, it's hard to get caught up in much." Emma laughed.

"It's not funny, Em."

"I know you've been having a hard time with this, I really do, but I need you to trust my judgment a little more. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize my life or my career. I also know that you don't totally love the fact that I'm a spy, but you're gonna have to get over that, because I'm going to stay a spy. I'm good at it."

"Please don't let it take over your life. It took over mine for a long time, and it took me even longer to find myself again."

"That's what you're worried about? I'm always going to come back home to you guys, mom. Family is the most important thing."

"Promise?"

"Promise. No matter how many aliases I get or how many missions I go on, I will always be Emma Bartowski and you will always be my family." Emma hugged her mother tightly and sighed.

"I love you, and I don't want anything to happen to you." Sarah murmured.

"It won't."

"You can't guarantee that."

"But I can guarantee that your bacon is burning." Emma let go of her mother and nodded to the red pan on the stove.

"Oh!" Sarah exclaimed and turned each bacon strip over. "Thanks."

"No problem, I have to eat that too." Emma laughed.

"Your father told me that you didn't drink last night." Sarah jumped straight to the point.

"Well, my father happens to be right." The teen sassed.

"The rest of your team did though, didn't they?" Sarah already knew them too well.

"Kylie, Sierra, and Jessie did, yeah. Clara and I were the designated drivers of the evening."

"Good." Sarah replied as she placed the cooked bacon on a plate. "You can tell your brother and sister that their breakfast is ready." Sarah smiled. "But make sure they don't stab you." She winked. Emma laughed.

"Aye aye boss." The morning went by fast; Emma was 'killed' multiple times by Jack and Jenny. She eventually went upstairs and changed into a loose t-shirt, her grey Nike basketball shorts, black Nike Zooms, and put her hair up into a bouncy ponytail. She hadn't played for a while now, and she hadn't talked to anyone on the team. She was supposed to go back to school tomorrow, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Even shooting hoops in her own driveway seemed to be a traitorous thing to do. As she shot, she couldn't help but think about how her teammates would treat her when she returned to school. She missed almost every shot, but didn't give up. She took another shot, chasing after her ball as it hit the rim and rolled behind her down the driveway. Two hands grasped the ball in front of her at the end of the cement, and her eyes widened as she recognized the face.

"No way." Did he bug her? Did he have surveillance? "Emma no last name." Ryan Pierce smiled. He was wearing a blue and white plaid elbow-length shirt, dark blue jeans, and white vans. His hands were tucked into his pockets, as he slowly walked up to Emma.

"Why are you at my house?" She asked. Her gun was inside, so she was defenseless. And she really hated screaming.

"I live a block down and I was just going for a walk. What're the odds, right?" He let out a laugh. She wasn't going to admit that she loved his smile, and tried to keep her facial expressions hidden.

"Right." Her voice was monotonous.

"It seriously is a coincidence."

"So you aren't just a creeper?"

"Definitely not a creeper." He was her mission, and she remembered that it was her job to get close to him. She needed to eventually be close enough to enter his household, and find his father's files.

"Well the I guess I can keep talking to you." Emma smiled.

"Mind if I shoot a few?" He asked, gesturing for her basketball.

"No, go ahead." She watched him make every shot he took. She was definitely impressed. "You play?" She asked when he returned her ball.

"A little bit."

"A little bit? You looked like a miniature Pao Gasol!" She laughed.

"Yeah, but I'm much cuter." He smiled again.

"Have you ever played on a team?"

"Not really. I'm usually just bored and take shots in my own back yard."

"I'm impressed." Emma blurted.

"I better get going." He said as he checked his watch.

"Yeah, you probably should." She played it cool.

"Well, I'll see you around Emma..."

"Bartowski."

"Emma Bartowski." He nodded and walked off. She watched him until he disappeared. Her brother and sister erupted from the back door, and tackled each other in the yard.

"You two better careful!" Sarah yelled from the back porch step. She was wiping her hands off with a dishtowel. The sunlight caught her face perfectly, and her long, curly blonde hair exploded into the color of a lion's mane. Emma stared at her mother, hoping that she would be as beautiful one day. Sarah walked up to her daughter, following her gaze to see the boy leave her driveway.

"Emma, who was that?"

"That was my mission." Emma replied.


	6. Chapter 6

School wasn't exactly great when Emma got back. Everyone glared at her as she walked through the halls, and no one on the team would look at her. Her first four classes made her feel as if she were new at the school, and didn't know anyone. Her best friend Isabel sneered at her the entire time, and the rest of her friends followed suit. By lunch, Emma was finally fed up with everyone's behavior, and confronted her friends outside of the cafeteria.

"What the hell is your problem?" She shouted at all of them.

"Oh look, it speaks." Her friend Jennifer laughed.

"Are you kidding me? Look, I'm sorry about bailing on you guys but my dad had some things going on."

"Awwww. Pwoor daddy." Isabel made a baby voice.

"You wouldn't know would you?" Emma glared and the girls gasped. Isabel's dad had died the prior year, and the whole group had been there for her. Including Emma. But she didn't feel bad for saying it. She was tired of being blamed for everything. Every game they lost, every time a player got wasted or high before a game, when someone was hurt in a game, if she didn't score enough points.

"Did you seriously just say that?"

"You know what, if you can't win without me, that's your problem. I can't keep being the only good player on the team."

"Oh that's it!" Isabel lunged at her. Emma hadn't been ready for the attack, so Isabel knocked her over easily. She got a few punches in, but Emma overtook her almost immediately. Her training kicked in, and she threw out some of her favorite moves. They both stood up, and Emma jabbed her in the side, and kicked her in the chest with her leg outstretched. Isabel came back, but Emma roundhoused her in the jaw, knocking her out. The faces on everyone watching told Emma that she had just done something very wrong.

"What are you?"

"Dude, that's not normal."

"Whoa. How did she learn that?" Everyone was asking questions and staring at Emma as if she was an alien from a different planet. The two had been taken to the principal's office almost immediately after the fight, and the parents were called almost as fast. Isabel came out of the principal's office, still holding the right side of her face. Her mother, Jane, followed her out of the room, sneering at Emma as she did so. It had only been a month ago that Emma had last spent the night at Isabel's house. They had cooked dinner for Isabel's mom and brother. Now it was all a dream, a wish. Emma look down, only to suddenly heard heels promptly clicking in her direction. She gulped. When she looked to her left, she saw her mother making her way towards the office. And she looked mad. Sarah Bartowski was definitely not someone you wanted mad. She was wearing an eggshell blue tank top underneath a black blazer, a black pencil skirt, and black heels with an inch platform. Her hair was perfectly curled, and hung over her shoulders. She didn't look aged at all. She still looked as if she were thirty years old.

"Look mom-" Emma began. Sarah put up her hand and stopped her from finishing, and walked inside the office. Emma followed. They had been arguing back and forth for about twenty minutes, when Sarah had finally had enough.

"Isn't there some way we can keep this from her record?" Sarah asked.

"I know Emma's a good kid, but we have a no fighting policy. The best I can do is give her a five-day suspension." Principal Tucker said. Emma's eyes widened.

"She hasn't been in any fights before, she has a 4.0, and she's involved in almost every extra-curricular activity at this school! How is that the best you can do?" Sarah was fed up with the way this woman ran things.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Bartowski, if I could do anything else I would. We love Emma just as much as you." Principal Tucker replied.

"Thank you for your time." Sarah shook Tucker's hand.

"I really am sorry about all of this." The principal looked to her student.

"Emma, now." Sarah demanded as she reached for the door. Emma left the office first, her head down the entire walk to the car. When they reached the car, Emma finally spoke.

"Thanks for not yelling at me-" Sarah cut her off.

"What the hell were you thinking? A roundhouse Emma? You used your training to hurt someone!"

"It just kind of happened…" Emma trailed.

"Just kind of happened? She's your friend!"

"No, mom, she isn't! And you wouldn't know either! You wouldn't know half the things that are going on in my life! I'm tired of being the perfect daughter, the perfect student, the perfect basketball player, the perfect spy. I'm not a perfect person, and you and everyone else need to realize that!" Emma grabbed Sarah's keys, tossed her own out the car window once she was in, and sped off. She knew her mother was going to be pissed beyond belief, but she couldn't think about that right now. She needed to get away, and the fastest way to do that was speed away in her mother's Lotus. She needed to escape everything. She needed to be free.

* * *

Rick Pierce's black minivan trailed easily behind Emma's car. After hearing his son talk about Emma Bartowski, he looked her up in his system and found her CIA credentials easily. It hadn't taken him very long to hack into the CIA's mainframe without anyone noticing. After that, he tracked her down without a problem.

"We're following her right now." The voice came through the phone instantly.

"Good. We're going to beat the information out of her." Rick Pierce spat through the phone. They trailed Emma Bartowski's car, making sure to keep a reasonable distance until they were given the orders to pounce. He got a call a few seconds later, and he picked up when he saw it was his son. "Ryan? Are you okay?" His rough voice smoothed out with concern.

"Yeah dad, I'm fine."

"Then why are you calling?" Rick narrowed his eyes.

"I'm just letting you know that I'm going to the court at the park for a while. I'll let you know when I'm on my way home." Ryan replied.

"Fine. Be home before ten."

"Okay! See you later." Ryan hung up. Little did Rick now that his son was about to be with the same girl he was trailing.

* * *

Emma ended up at the park; she came here all the time when she was younger, as this court was the only one she felt one hundred percent comfortable on. She walked into the bathrooms and changed, as she had her uniform and ball in the back of her mother's car from the last practice. After changing, she walked onto the court, loving the fact that no one else was there. Twenty minutes into her practice session, someone showed up.

"Emma Bartowski." The voice said. Emma turned around to find Ryan Pierce standing at the entrance.

"You just won't leave me alone will you?" She smiled.

"I guess my heart is just drawn to you." He said. Emma laughed. Then she realized he was being truthful. "You mind having a little one-on-one? Oh wait, you've already had one today."

"God, you heard about that too?"

"Heard about it? It's all over Facebook and YouTube. You throw one hell of a roundhouse!" He pulled out his phone to show Emma the video. She watched as Isabel attacked her, and how she easily gained control of the fight. She watched in horror as she saw herself knock her best friend out cold with a single kick. She stared at herself, noticing how much like her mother she was. Watching the video, she knew how much trouble she'd be in with the general. She stared at the tiny phone screen, thinking _I'm so screwed._

"Do you know how cool that looked?" Ryan interrupted her thoughts.

"No, not really…" She trailed, thinking of some way to delete it. Kylie was great with electronics, so deleting it wouldn't be a problem for her.

"Where'd you learn to do that anyway?" Ryan sat down onto the cement of the court, and Emma followed suit.

"I uh, used to take karate."

"Yeah, and you were obviously a sensei." He laughed. Emma looked at him and smiled. His blue eyes sparkled at her, and she found herself leaning closer to him. He started to lean in as well, and right before their lips met, she saw a black car pull up to the park. She pulled away. "What? What is it?" He looked in the same direction as her.

"Uh, nothing. It's nothing."

"That's weird."

"What is?" She turned to look at him and saw his puzzled expression.

"That's one of my dad's cars." Ryan pointed to a black Civic in the parking lot. And then it happened. Three men stepped out of the car, holding guns up to shoot.

"GET DOWN!" Emma yelled to Ryan. She made sure to keep an arm over him as she heard gun shots echo through the park.

"What's happening?" Ryan shouted over the noise.

"I don't know!" Emma replied, also yelling.

"We have to get out of here!"

"We can make it to my car if we hurry!" The two teens got up in a swift movement and exited the court. Thank god the men were bad shots, because it would've ended badly if they hadn't been.

"What the hell was that?" Ryan asked, breathing heavily in the passenger's seat. Emma started the car and sped away the instant she pushed the start button by the wheel.

"You said that was your dad's car, so you tell me." Emma pulled her mother's Smith&Wesson from under her seat with her right hand, and aimed it towards Ryan.

"Whoa, why do you have a gun?"

"Why did you follow me here?"

"I didn't! I swear, I just came here to shoot."

"I don't buy it, not for a second."

"You think I led them here?"

"You know exactly who I am, don't you? I can't believe I fell for your clueless act! God, I'm a spy and I didn't even see that you're in on this with him."

"Who? Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I came here to play basketball, and instead I almost die. You need to explain everything." Ryan held her eye contact.

"You didn't intentionally distract me?"

"Why would I want to be shot at?" His voice got louder.

"Your dad isn't the greatest guy in the world. He's a famous arms dealer, and I think he knows my team is getting closer."

"He's what? No, he can't be. He may be a little harsh, but he's no arms dealer. He's just my dad."

"Let's just get to my base, and I'll explain. As long as you _promise_ you're telling the truth."

"If I wanted you dead, I would've done it already." He gave her a weak smile. "Would you mind dropping the gun though? I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh yeah, sorry. It's a habit."

"So you're a spy, huh? Not a karate master?"

"Like I said, I'll explain when we get to my base."

* * *

"I cannot believe she took my car!" Sarah yelled into her phone. She had Chuck on speaker, listening on the other line.

"She's a teenager Sarah. They all act out at some point. And maybe she's right, maybe we have been expecting too much of her."

"Chuck, the only things we've been expecting from her are the things she's capable of. She isn't going to get anywhere in life if we don't push her."

"I know, but she does have a lot going on…"

"Whose side are you on?" She asked, irritated. Chuck laughed.

"Always yours honey."

"Good answer." Sarah smiled.

"All I'm saying is maybe she needs to let loose a little. I mean, she never gets in trouble, but the day she goes back to school she does? I doubt she started that fight, she knows better."

"Maybe not, but she definitely knows better than to use her training on civilians."

"And I'm sure her general will punish her for it. But as her parents, we're supposed to talk to her about it and make sure she's okay."

"I hate when you're right."

"I love it." She heard her husband laugh. "Hey, uh, I gotta go. Jack is on a rampage."

"Okay, go take care of it. I love you."

"Love you too." Chuck hung up. Sarah turned on the radio, rolling her eyes at Emma's loud music preferences. She wasn't one for music, but enjoyed most of the things Chuck listened to. She was almost home when she noticed the same black car that had been behind her five blocks back. Her spy instinct kicked in, and she tried to lose it. Taking many different lefts and rights, she looked in her rear view mirror to find no one behind her. She sighed, wondering if her spy tendencies would ever leave her mind. Turning the next corner, she slammed on her breaks to avoid the car stopped in the middle of the road. As her heart raced, she realized the familiarity of the car. Two men stepped out, carrying pistols. She reached for her gun, only to remember that she was in Emma's vehicle. The men got closer, and forced the door open.

"You aren't agent Bartowski."

"Figure that out all on your own did you?"

"Where's Bartowski?" The man that Sarah assumed to be the leader asked her.

"She's throwing a bit of a tantrum right now. If you find her, let me know." Sarah kept her sassy attitude up.

"We'll take her instead." The man said to his partner. "Maybe Agent Bartowski will come looking." The last thing Sarah saw was a tranquilizer gun being pointed at her neck. After she had lost consciousness, the men grabbed her out of the car and stuffed her into the trunk of their car.

"Are you sure about this, boss?"

"Absolutely. Follow me with her car, we don't want anything suspicious to draw attention." Rick Pierce was going to find his wife's killer, and he wasn't afraid to kill for thee information.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm really excited to revisit this story. I've kept a lot of things the same, but I am finding little tidbits of new information to put into the writing! It's hard to please everyone, so I'm really just focused on keeping a smooth storyline. Thanks for reviewing and following! Fans really are everything.**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

Emma pulled into the parking lot of the base in a hurry, wanting to get inside and get her team's help to figure out why Rick Pierce was after her. Ryan looked around as he slowly got out of the car.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Somewhere safe. This is government property; nobody knows it's here except for us."

"I just don't know how my dad became an arms dealer. He's just a normal dad."

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd tell you. All I know is that for some reason, he's trying to kill me. Look Ryan, I can't tell you why your dad is doing this. But I can tell you that I'll protect you and help you figure it out. I know what it's like to have secretive parents."

"Can I trust you?" Ryan looked Emma straight in the eyes. His face was solemn, yet his eyes showed sadness.

"Of course you can. I'll help you figure this out." They entered the side of the building, and took the elevator to the basement level of the abandoned warehouse. Emma entered the main room first, only to find her team waiting for her. Zondra, Carina, and her father were with them.

"You called back up?" Emma looked to Jess.

"Of course we did, we thought you were dead!" The second in command ran to Emma and hugged her tight.

"Dead?"

"The surveillance in your car showed two guys pulling up behind you and then shooting the micro-camera. Like they knew exactly where it was." Clara said.

"What are you talking about? We were shot at by the court at the park."

"We?" Zondra asked. Emma looked behind her right shoulder and noticed Ryan's absence. She looked around the corner to find him leaning against the wall.

"You can come in, you know." She said.

"What if he's a murderer?"

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm sure he's killed before. He's basically a mob leader."

"Thanks."

"Just come in here." Emma took Ryan's hand, and led him into the room.

"Are you crazy? You brought a civilian in here?" Kylie yelled. Emma noticed her father's eagle eye locked on their clasped hands.

"He needs protection."

"Dude, the guy's dad is the evilest arms dealer in the world. I'd say he has enough protection." Kylie retorted.

"You know about my dad?" Ryan asked.

"Duh, he's been our mission for the past two weeks." Jess let slip. Ryan immediately looked to Emma.

"You didn't show up at the Lemur on accident, did you?" He let go of Emma's hand.

"I can explain."

"Can you explain to us how you got away from two armed guys?" Clara interrupted.

"Like I told you, we were at the park. There were three men, and they weren't anywhere near my car. They shot at us from a distance, I don't think they knew Ryan was with me."

"General Jones sent us the footage, Em. Look." Kylie pulled up a video feed on the largest screen in the room. Sure enough, what they had explained was true. Emma watched as two men pulled her car over, shooting the camera after a few seconds. Then it hit her. Hard. She felt her knees buckle, only to be caught by a strong figure.

"What is it?" Chuck held her up.

"That's my car." Emma managed to get out.

"Yeah, we know."

"I wasn't in my car." Emma's eyes started to well with tears, and Chuck realized what she was saying.

"You took mom's car." He said. Emma nodded. "She was in yours."

"They have mom."

"Wait, what?" Clara asked.

"I got into a fight at school and my mom got mad at me so I took her car and she was in mine. Mom is in trouble."

"She'll be okay, little Walker." Carina said.

"Yeah, she's tough. We'll get her back." Zondra added. All Emma could think about was what those men were doing to her mother right about now.

* * *

"You seem to have gone through this before." Rick Pierce paced back and forth slowly in front of Sarah. His men had tied her up by her hands, and hung her from a pipe on the ceiling of the warehouse they were in.

"You haven't." Sarah spat back. Rick gestured toward one of his men, who stepped up and punched Sarah yet again. The last time she had been bound like this, was when Daniel Shaw had overthrown Castle on Christmas. Not that she remembered anything from that day, but Chuck had gone over it with her numerous times.

"I don't really think you want to be toying with me right now."

"I know some very powerful people, who will find you and destroy you."

"Is that so?" Rick stood an inch from her face, "Like who?"

"Boss, you might want to come look at this." A guard by the exit voiced. Rick left the room and entered another, and stood behind a man sitting at a lone computer on a very old wooden desk. The walls of the room were a pale yellow, and the floors were an old gray.

"We found the woman's ID and ran it through the system." The man said.

"Okay, and what do you have for me, Tony?" Rick was breathing down Tony's neck.

"She was a CIA Agent for over twenty years."

"What?"

"Yeah, it says here that she was a part of the Intersect Project, and she went through some sort of traumatic event and took a leave of absence for three years."

"Find out what that event was, and tell me as soon as you know."

"You got it, boss."

"Oh, Tony," Rick turned to Tony, "What's her name?"

"Sarah Bartowski, sir."

"Before marriage?"

"Sarah Walker, sir."

"Thanks Tony, I'll be sure to throw in a bonus." Rick left the room and went back to torturing a defenseless Sarah Bartowski. In this moment, she found herself thinking of Chuck, wishing he was here to save her.

* * *

"Emma, this isn't your fault." Chuck had taken Emma aside, into a different room than the others. "I'm one-hundred percent sure that she'll be fine."

"You can't say that, Dad." Emma had stopped crying, but was clearly still devastated.

"Yes, I can. Your mother was an amazing spy. I worked with her for seven years, and I still have yet to meet anyone better than her."

"I've seen what she can do, but what if that isn't enough?"

"It is enough," He smiled at Emma, "All we need to do is find her and bring her back." The two heard a knock on the door. Emma looked past her father to see Ryan standing in the doorway.

"Can we talk?" He looked at Emma. Chuck glanced at his daughter, giving her a fatherly gaze.

"Give us a minute dad." She returned his look with reassurance. He took the signal and left, staring Ryan down as he did so.

"I was your mission." Ryan stated, not coming close to Emma.

"Technically speaking, you still are."

"So all of this is fake?"

"No. I mean, I've only known you for a few weeks, but I already care about you more than I should."

"How can I believe that? You're after my dad, and you used me to get to him."

"He got to me first, so that statement doesn't work."

"Emma."

"Ryan." Emma mimicked his bland tone. "Listen to me, I would never do anything to hurt you or use you. I may have in the beginning, but now that I know you it's different." She moved closer.

"Those words are empty." He looked down.

"No, they're full of meaning. I'm serious when I say you mean something to me." She stopped about a half of an inch away from Ryan's face, and lifted his head with her forefinger.

"I just found out that my dad is a murderer, Emma. I can't take any more lies."

"I'm not lying." With that, she pressed her lips against his. He gave into her gesture, and pulled her closer.

"Uh, guys?" Clara coughed. Ryan and Emma jumped apart.

"Uncle Chuck has an idea." She gave Emma a weird look.

'We'll be right there." Emma responded. The two lovebirds collected themselves, then headed to the main room once more.

"I called my team." Chuck said.

"The old team?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, we need all the help we can get."

"Good idea."

"We also talked to Gray, and she's all in. She said she'd help in any way she can." Jess added.

"Good."

"Ready for more good news?" Kylie smiled.

"Always." Emma smiled back.

"Mom had her tracker on her. She wanted one in the charm bracelet I gave her, just in case something were to happen." Chuck jumped in.

"So we know where she is?"

"Kinda. I followed the signal of her bracelet, but Pierce has some sort of cloak on the area. We know where she was right before the signal was cut." Kylie said.

"So we start there."

"We start there." Chuck echoed. The entire team left the base, taking two separate cars. Emma was hell bent on fiding her mother, no matter what the cost.

* * *

Sarah had been in and out of consciousness for an hour, and revisited an old memory every time she felt herself slipping away.

" _You've been acting weird today. Care to let me in on your secret?" Chuck asked, shoving a forkful of pot roast in his mouth. Sarah had finished dinner before he got home from work, and they were halfway through the meal. Sarah had barely touched the food on her plate, unable to digest the news she had received earlier that day._

" _Who says I have a secret?" She forced a smile._

" _That completely fake smile does."_

" _I think we should get a house." Sarah blurted. Chuck started to choke on his food._

" _What?"_

" _I know that we're finally in a good place, but I think we should expand."_

" _You do remember how long it took us to get to this place, don't you? I barely broke through your wall a second time. You think you're ready for a house?"_

" _I don't know that I'm ready for any of this." Sarah sighed._

" _Then why would you bring it up?"_

" _Because I'm pregnant, Chuck." Sarah stared straight at her husband, watching his face turn to stone._

" _You're…what?"_

" _Pregnant. And we don't have enough space in this apartment for a kid. We barely have enough space for your game chairs."_

" _And you just found out today?"_

" _My doctor's office called. I was feeling weird when I went in so they took a blood test to see if I was anemic or something, and it turns out that I'm pregnant. Three weeks."_

" _And I thought a house was big…" Chuck trailed._

" _Please just tell me we're going to be okay." Sarah felt a lump in her throat._

" _Hey," Chuck got up from his seat and crouched next to his wife, taking her hands in his. "We are going to be great. This kid has some pretty awesome parents." He smiled._

" _You're right."_

" _Of course I'm right." He laughed, causing Sarah to do the same._

" _I do love you, Chuck Bartowski."_

" _I love you too, Sarah." The two shared a simple yet truly meaningful kiss, and started to prepare for the arrival of their first child._

* * *

The tiny road that Sarah's signal had emanated from was desolate and dark, surrounded by trees and dirt. No people, no cars, not even the faint croak of frogs and whistle of crickets could be seen or heard.

"We've searched the whole area, nothing's here. Mom isn't here." Emma tucked her hands into the pockets of her black leather jacket.

"We can't give up, Em. I won't give up. She's saved me too many times to count, and I will not stop searching until I find her." Chuck replied to his daughter's statement.

"Dad, you don't get it!" Emma raised her voice, "We can't find her! When are you going to realize that? She's gone."

"Whoa, Walker Junior, calm down. You don't know who could be listening." Carina and Zondra appeared from the left.

"Nobody is listening. There's nothing here." Emma repeated.

"I wouldn't say that. Look what I found." Casey and Morgan, who had met the team at the site, appeared from the right, and Casey held up Sarah's phone to the father/daughter duo. Emma's eyes immediately focused on the faint gray iPhone 5s.

"Casey, where did you find that?" Chuck asked, taking the phone from his old partner.

"About a mile in." He replied with a glimpse of pride and excitement. Emma had never known Casey to be a happy person, but she had only met him a few times before as he lived quite far away with Gertrude Verbanski.

"We had your team stay where we found it." Morgan looked to Emma.

"Still want to give up?" Chuck looked to his daughter.

"Never." Emma smiled at her father and then followed the others into the woods.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: The first time around, a lot of readers hated this storyline, and I'm sorry to say that I'm keeping it the same. If you don't want to read it, then don't. But for those of you who enjoy this story, I promise a good outcome. I'm not sure of the exact way this will end, but I know it will be more satisfying than the finale we got from Schwartz and Fedak. Anyway, this is a shorter chapter, but it's full of storyline! As always, thanks for sticking with me.**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

"The world is smaller than we think, isn't it?" Rick Pierce had appeared in front of Sarah yet again. Her arms ached, her head was throbbing, and she couldn't see out of her bloodied left eye.

"What are you talking about?" She croaked.

"You can speak? Obviously my men haven't done a good enough job of torturing you, Sarah." He narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

"How do you know my name?" She asked.

"You know, my plan was to take your daughter. It seems as though she's been spending a lot of time with my son. But, I was fortunate enough to get you instead," He smiled, "You're a much better target."

"Why don't you quit playing with your words, and tell me what you're planning on doing." Sarah spat. Pierce got close to her, close enough that the tip of his nose touched hers.

"You took my wife away from me, and it just so happens that I know an old acquaintance of yours who can take you away from your husband and children as well. Payback is a bitch." He growled.

"I haven't been a field agent for nineteen years, how is it that I could've taken your wife?"

"You tell me." Pierce's voice was filled with hatred. Sarah thought hard, trying to remember her past, and then it hit her. Her mission had been to kill Pierce, not his wife. Emma was only a year old at the time, and Beckman needed Sarah for one last mission. She hadn't told Chuck of her assignment, she had only tried to make it quick and painless. Beckman warned her of Pierce, telling her that he had the ability to track every agent in the CIA/NSA/FBI etc. Sarah's mission had been to eliminate the threat, however someone had seen her. His wife took the bullet for him, and in that moment all Sarah could think of is how she would do the same for Chuck.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say.

"Yeah, well, it seems as though you were the intersect at one point."

"How do you know that?"

"I have some very talented IT guys." He said, "And it turns out Nicholas Quinn was involved." Pierce paced back and forth in front of her with his hands clasped together in front of his chest. Sarah had worked so hard to get her memories back and create new ones with Chuck. It hadn't been easy, but she could see where Pierce was going. All at once, she tried to bring back every possible memory she could think of, because she knew she was about to lose them all again.

"He's dead."

"Oh yes, you made sure of that. But, it just so happens that his brother Marcus is alive and well."

"What does that have to do with any of this?"

"We found him and brought him here." The door behind Pierce opened and a pudgy man stepped into the dark room. "Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Quinn."

"My pleasure. Nicholas would want me to be here, avenging his death in person." Marcus replied smugly, stepping out of the shadows. He looked almost exactly like his brother. The small eyes, greasy hair, and crooked smile matched those of his deceased sibling.

"You see, Nicholas suppressed your memories before, and Marcus is here to give them back." Pierce stated.

"Why would you do that?" Sarah asked. Maybe he was going to give them back and then kill her?

"Because Agent Walker, they're going to override your existing memories." Quinn pulled out the all too familiar intersect glasses, a pair that he had obviously recreated. Sarah replayed every moment with Emma, Jack, and Jenny in her head. Making birthday cakes with Chuck, Saturday morning pancakes, late night snuggles. She was about to lose everything, and she knew that Emma was going to blame herself. There was nothing she could do but try and fight back.

* * *

"There it is!" Emma was excited. The team found an abandoned warehouse on the satellite surveillance, and it wasn't too far off from where Sarah's phone had been dropped. The large team had found a place to hide behind some trees and bushes.

"We need to go in steadily, we have no idea who or what is in there." Chuck replied.

"Bartowski! Look!" Casey pointed out two figures exiting the building.

"Guards?" Sierra asked the very old but very built man.

"Definitely, they're carrying weapons." Carina noticed.

"We need to split up." Emma said.

"What?" Chuck looked to his daughter.

"She's right." Zondra voiced, "We'll be less easy to target if we all go separate ways. Good thinking, Emma."

"So who is going with who?" Morgan piped up. Everyone looked at him. "What?"

"Morgan, we're going to need someone to watch out here for us." Chuck gave him a sympathetic look. "I would do it too, and leave the shooting to the pros, but that's my wife."

"I'll stay with him." Sierra said. "Just be careful, Em." The team had to take out about seven guards before entering the building. Zondra and Carina went to the back, Chuck and Casey went to the west side, and Emma and Ryan had taken the front entrance. Ryan looked nervous, but he was holding the gun Emma had given him correctly.

"You didn't have to come in." Emma said to him while keeping her gun up and her eyes alert.

"Yeah I did. This is your mom Emma, and I can help." He replied. They followed a long hallway and took a few right and left turns, before they came upon a large black door.

"Stay behind me." Emma warned.

"I was planning on doing that already." Ryan laughed nervously. Emma opened the door with ease, and felt as though they were being set up. This was too easy. She looked around the room and saw empty chairs and computers placed around tables and desks.

"Emma, look." Ryan's voice sounded from behind her.

"It's a file on my mom." Emma looked at the computer screen Ryan had pointed out. Suddenly, they heard voices from the hallway.

"Emma, hide." Ryan said suddenly.

"What? What about you?" She asked.

"Just hide!" He whispered. She hid behind a desk to the left of Ryan, and watched in horror as he stayed in front of the door. When it opened, she expected to see him drop to the floor with blood pooling around his body, but he didn't move. She heard no gunshots or punches. Instead she heard a father talking to his son in disbelief.

"Ryan?" Rick Pierce had stepped into the room, followed by what seemed to be his team of hackers and tech men.

"Dad, what is this place?" Ryan asked.

"How did you get here?" Rick evaded his question.

"I followed you." Ryan positioned himself to the other side of the room, hoping his father would follow. He wanted Emma to get out of the room. She got the idea. As soon as Rick and his team were away from the door, she booked it. She was about to use her watch and earpiece to tell her father to abort, when she noticed an odd looking door. She opened it carefully, unsure of what was behind it. Emma's eyes widened as she saw her mother in the middle of the room. The older blonde was strung up in a dirty cement room, tied to a pipe. Sarah was hard to recognize at first, as her face had been beaten and her body was more frail than usual. Emma stopped dead in her tracks.

"You're okay!" Emma rushed over to her mother. She used the knife hidden behind her back to cut the rope on her mother's wrists. "I'm so sorry, I know we should've been here sooner, but it was hard to find you."

"We?" Sarah asked. She rubbed her hands when they were finally free.

"Yeah, the whole team is here." Emma replied.

"Chuck?"

"Yeah, of course he's here. Let's just get you out, okay?" Emma said. Sarah's mind snapped into gear.

"Do you have an extra gun?" She asked her daughter.

"No, this is all I have with me. And I only have half a mag left. Just stay behind me." Emma started to lead the two out of the building, and Sarah couldn't help but wonder why Chuck and Casey had recruited such a young girl to help them. She seemed to be fresh out of spy candidate school, probably around sixteen years old. She would be sure to ask Chuck as soon as she saw him again. It felt like she hadn't seen her husband in years, when in reality it had only been a few days since Quinn had taken her on the bullet train. On the way out of the building, the only thing she could think of is how she would apologize to Chuck for not staying in the compartment. Thank god he hadn't done something extreme to her, and that Chuck was here to save her before he did.

"Chuck!" Sarah erupted from the entrance of the building.

"Sarah." Chuck sighed and smiled, running towards her. He gently took her face in his hands. "Are you okay?"

"I ran into her after we found this weird room." Emma said.

"Where's the kid?" Casey asked.

"He's having a…..family reunion." Emma told the team.

"Let's give them a second." Carina said. The team separated themselves from Chuck and Sarah.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Chuck asked.

"I'm fine, really. I've gone through much worse torturing tactics." Sarah chuckled. Chuck smiled at his wife.

"You know, Emma has been beating herself up. She thinks this is her fault." Chuck explained.

"Is that the girl?" Sarah asked.

"What?"

"I was meaning to ask you why you put such a young girl up to this. You and Casey couldn't do it alone?" Sarah had just started to notice the gray flecks in his hair, and the wrinkles in his smile. He seemed much older than he had just a few days before.

"What are you talking about? You know who Emma is, right?" Chuck started to worry.

"Sure, she's the agent you hired to help get me back."

"Sarah…Emma is our daughter."

"We don't have a daughter." Sarah scoffed. "I know we talked about this on the train, but I don't think I'm ready quite yet."

"What train?"

"The bullet train. Quinn, Intersect, Quinn taking me…" Sarah frowned at him.

"Are you saying you think we just saved you from Quinn?"

"Well, yeah. You did."

"Sarah, that was almost twenty years ago." Chuck stared at his wife. What the hell had this guy just done to her?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Starting from this point on, I decided to go a different route. My last version of Sarah didn't make any sense, so I changed it this time around. The old version of Sarah would've fought for her family, memories or no memories. So here's yet another chapter, more to come soon!**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

It hadn't taken very long for Emma to realize something was wrong with her mother. Not that she was acting any differently in character, but she wasn't very good with the twins. The minute she returned home, she didn't know how to act around them, or how to play with them. She barely spoke a word to Emma, and she and Chuck were constantly in their room talking with hushed voices, just as they were now.

"Are mommy and daddy okay?" Emma was stuck watching My Little Pony on the couch with Jenny, while Jack played MarioKart on his Nintendo DS3.

"Yeah Jen, they're fine." Emma responded with a sigh. She wished she could talk to them, but knew that playing along would benefit everyone greatly. Emma's mind was constantly going back and forth between her mother and Ryan these days. It had been about two weeks since the team had found Sarah in the warehouse, and Emma still had yet to hear from Ryan.

"Who's up for some pizza?" Chuck said excitedly while walking downstairs, Sarah trailing right behind.

"ME!" Jack and Jenny erupted at the same time.

"Em?" He looked to his daughter.

"Not really hungry." She replied with a forced smile.

"You? Not hungry?" Sarah joked. Chuck had obviously given her e rundown on each of the three kids. Chuck suddenly raced into the kitchen behind the twins, hoping to beat them to the phone. Sarah sat beside Emma. "I'm sorry if things have been a little weird lately. The warehouse took a lot out of me." Emma looked to her mother. Sarah's kind eyes were the same as they had been Emma's entire life, but the woman behind them was completely different. This woman had no clue what her daughter's interests or worries were. She had no idea what her daughter was like.

"I'm fine, really." Emma was good at lying too.

"You sure? I'm here to listen if you need me."

"I don't really feel like talking, so we can drop it." Emma snapped.

"Okay, well my offer still stands when you do feel like talking." Sarah stood up and joined Chuck and the twins in the kitchen. Emma grabbed her phone and clicked Ryan's number in the contacts. She held back tears as she listened to the ringing, and sighed when she heard his voicemail.

"Ryan, I don't know where you are, but I really need you right now. Something is up with my mom, and I need help. I hope you're okay…please just call me when you get this." She hung up, blinked away the water in her eyes, and went back to watching the television in front of her. On the walk to the kitchen, Sarah couldn't help but think that Emma already knew something was wrong. If what Chuck had told her was true, her daughter would have confided in her by now.

"You okay?" Chuck asked, noticing his wife's worried expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled.

"Mommy, I want pepperoni!" Jenny exclaimed.

"I want cheese!" Jack battled his sister.

"How about we do half and half?" Sarah laughed at her children.

"But I could eat a whole pizza." Jenny frowned.

"Me too!" Jack yelled.

"I could probably eat this entire fridge, but you don't see me complaining." Chuck chimed in.

"You could not!" The twins giggled.

"You wanna bet?" Chuck raised an eyebrow. Sarah watched how he interacted with the twins, smiling at the fact that her life had turned out better than she had ever imagined.

* * *

"So she's a spy?" Sarah was fixing her side of the bed before climbing in.

"Yeah." Chuck replied while doing the same as his wife.

"How did we let that happen?"

"We didn't exactly _let_ it. We just found out about a month ago."

"Long story?"

"Really long story. All you need to know is that she's basically a mini version of you." Chuck smiled, sliding under the covers. Sarah followed suit, snuggling into her husband's side.

"Then she knows. Trust me, if you say she's exactly like me then she already knows."

"So why hasn't she said anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe for the sake of the twins?"

"She usually talks to you." Chuck said quietly.

"I tried talking to her earlier. I wish I could figure out a way to get everything back, but I don't even know how I lost my memories in the first place."

"I feel like a jerk." He whispered. Sarah looked up at him.

"Why?"

"Because, part of me doesn't want you to get the past eighteen years back."

"Why is that?"

"Nevermind. We'll figure something out, we always do."

"I never really remembered anything, did I?" Sarah got straight to the point.

"No. I mean, I think bits and pieces of some things came back, but you didn't."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It took us a long time to get back to this point, Sarah."

"It took us a long time to get where we were when Quinn took me."

"There was a point where we didn't talk. I have no clue where you went, but you said you needed to find yourself. I've never felt so alone in my entire life. Waking up every day without you here was torture, and I was sure that you were never coming back."

"But I did. I did come back, Chuck."

"My Sarah never did."

* * *

Sarah had been home alone all day, looking through photo albums, trying to remember even the slightest memory. Halloween's, Christmases, Thanksgiving's, every picture she looked at showed her more and more of who she had become. This was the version of herself that she had always envisioned. Maybe not with as many kids, but definitely a mother.

"That was my first birthday." Emma entered the living room glancing at the pictures, startling her mother.

"I know." Sarah chuckled.

"Do you?" Emma replied.

"What do you mean?" Sarah looked up.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize something's wrong." Emma sat next to Sarah and took the album, flipping to a specific page. She stopped after a few page turns, and handed the book back to Sarah. She pointed to a medium sized picture on the left page and all Sarah could do was stare at the vibrant mother smiling down at the beaming toddler in her arms. "That's how I knew."

"Because of a picture?" Sarah asked.

"No, because the moment I saved you, you didn't even come close to looking at me like that. The first thing my mom would've done is ask me if I was okay." Emma replied.

"You've been acting like everything is fine."

"That's what spies do, right?"

"You didn't know we were spies, did you?"

"No, you neglected to tell me about that."

"I never wanted my kids to follow in those footsteps."

"Looks like you failed."

"I'm not going to pretend to know who you are, I don't. I don't know anything about you. But I do know that I love you. Without even really knowing you, I do know that. Memories or no, you are still my daughter. So how about we work together instead of becoming enemies?"

"That's the problem!" Emma raised her voice, and stood up, "I need my mom! I don't need some clueless ex-spy playing house. My mom would know what to say. My mom would tell me that everything is going to be fine. But you? You don't know anything. You don't know my life, you don't know how I feel, you don't even know who I am. Maybe this crap will work on the twins because they don't know any better, but I'm not a child. So don't you dare pretend to care or say you love me, because you have no clue." The tears were apparent, and Emma couldn't control her sobbing at this point. Her mother was the one person she could always turn to, and she wasn't here. Sarah looked at her daughter with sympathy, aware of the pain she was feeling. She stood up slowly, and wrapped her arms around Emma, allowing the teen to cry into her chest.

"Everything will be okay, Emma. I won't pretend to know you or assume how you feel, but when I say that I love you, I mean it. I feel it. And I need you to hear me when I say that I will fix this."

"I just want my mom back." Emma cried.

"You will."

"Promise me. Promise me that you'll get your memories back."

"I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I just finished News Anchor, so why not update another story? I'll be working on this one specifically for a while. I may revisit The Unexpected, but I'm not sure. Anyway, please comment! Enjoy this one.**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

The next few months passed faster than anyone had expected. Emma still hadn't heard from Ryan, and the team still had yet to figure out a way to get Sarah's memories back. Emma and Sarah had started their bonding process, but hadn't gotten to the point of complete trust just yet.

"You busy?" Emma heard her mother's voice, and a knock on her bedroom door.

"Just finishing up some homework." Emma dropped her pencil and swiveled her chair towards her mother. "What's up?"

"Want a break?" Sarah smiled.

"Sure." Emma smiled back. "What were you thinking?"

"Maybe just a walk? Fresh air would be nice."

"Yeah, let me grab my jacket." The two blondes left the house quietly, careful not to disturb the other members of the family. The air outside was colder than usual, hitting a low of about sixty degrees.

"So, I know things have been weird around here." Sarah broke the ice after a good ten minutes of walking in silence.

"That's a pretty good observation." Emma let out a small laugh.

"I've also noticed that you like to keep quiet." The mother/daughter duo shared a look. "Which is something that you get from me, hands down. Chuck is all about talking things to death, while I'm more of a silent-hate type of person."

"There isn't much to say. Other than what I said when I screamed at you when you first got back, I don't have a lot on my mind."

"Oh really?" Sarah's tone was more motherly than it had been in a while.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"Not for a second. First of all, you're a spy. Spies constantly think about things, even if they're minor. Second, your boyfriend hasn't called you since you found me. Need I remind you, that was almost three months ago. Third, you have school which is hard enough without having to keep a giant secret from everyone. Fourth, the whole situation with me just sucks, fifth-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Emma cut her mother short.

"I may not remember much, but I do have a set of ears."

"I just feel like I'm talking to a stranger."

"And you kind of are. But, maybe now I can offer a completely unbiased opinion on things." Sarah smiled. They turned a corner, carefully watching the ground as they did so.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to be talking to you about my missions."

"I didn't ask you to."

"But what if that's a part of what's on my mind?"

"Then we can refrain from telling your general that I know everything."

"You're more like my version of you than you know." Emma looked at her mother, noticing a fleck of familiarity.

"When we figure out how to get all of me back, you won't have to keep worrying about the differences."

"I hope that's sooner than we think."

"Back to you?" Sarah stuffed her hands in her coat pockets.

"Back to me." Emma smiled.

"So where would you like to start?"

"Let's start with Ryan."

* * *

Chuck had been constantly trying to keep his mind off of everything. He barely made it through the first memory loss situation with his wife, but this time he had more to lose.

"Hey man, how're those numbers looking?" Morgan's voice interrupted Chuck's thoughts. They were at thee Buy More extra late, trying to finish up the inventory.

"Uh right, we need more MacBook's." The tall nerd replied.

"Thinking about Sarah again?"

"Always." Chuck forced a smile. "I just can't help but think about what happened last time."

"You mean when Sarah turned to the dark side and tried to kill you?" Morgan noticed Chuck's face change. "Nah, me either."

"I couldn't imagine not knowing my kids. She's come so far and I don't want her to lose herself."

"I hate to break it to you, but she's already lost that piece of herself. I do know that she's trying, you've seen her with them."

"That I have." They both wandered out of the back and walked to the front of the store. Never in a million years did they think they would have owned this place together.

"Look dude, you have the best team in the world at your disposal. Plus, Katelyn is working in overdrive to find something to help. Sarah will be back to herself in o time."

"That's the thing, Morgan. She's more like herself now than she ever has been. This version of her is the version I remember, the version I fell in love with, the version I've missed since the day she was taken. All I feel is guilty because this is the Sarah I've been wanting back."

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Sarah cleared her throat as she appeared behind the bromantic duo.

"Uh, not at all. I was just leaving." Morgan gave Chuck a look, leaving him with his wife.

"So how much of that did you hear exactly?" Chuck smiled nervously.

"Enough." Sarah leaned her back against thee Nerd Herd desk. "I can't imagine how hard all of this has been for you, Chuck."

"It really hasn't been that hard."

"That's a load of bull."

"Maybe it was at first, but when I won you over a second time, everything kind of just fell into place."

"You shouldn't have had to win me over in the first place. Memories or not, I'm your wife. Memories or not, Chuck, I could never not love you."

"Oh I know you still loved me, but I think you needed some time to sort it out. Sarah Walker and feelings don't exactly mix." He laughed.

"I should've stayed in that car on the train."

"What?"

"You told me to stay, and I didn't. I'm the reason that I was taken. If I would've stayed put, Quinn wouldn't have-"

"Sarah, you can't blame yourself. We all have things we could have done differently."

"We have kids now, Chuck. You and I aren't the only ones being affected this time." Sarah looked down.

"The twins don't understand what's happening."

"Emma does. Emma does, and that's what I'm worried about."

"Emma is tough, she's exactly like you."

"No, she isn't. I talked to her tonight, and I mean really talked. She let me in, Chuck. All the way. And I don't think she's ever really done that with anyone. She cares about everyone in her life and everything that's happening. She became a spy because of us."

"We didn't know that the agency had recruited her."

"Exactly. We let her be because she was the perfect daughter. We think she's stronger than she is, and that's the problem. She isn't an adult, she's a kid, and we need to start being her parents."

"You're right." Chuck sighed after a brief pause.

"This is the life I wanted, and now that I have it, I'm not letting it go." Sarah looked deep into Chuck's eyes.

"I hate myself for saying this, but a part of me doesn't want you to get your memories back."

"Why?" Sarah moved closer to her husband, placing a gentle hand on his face.

"It took us a long time to get here, Sarah. And of course you love me, but you're different. Not necessarily bad different, but you won't ever know our story. Me telling you about it is different than you living through it. The way you're looking at me right now is...it's the way I dream about. I miss you. I miss _this_ you, the you that remembers our first kiss, or the irritating back and forth, the countless times you've saved me, and our wedding. I miss my Sarah."

"Maybe this was a gift. You have this version of me for now, and maybe that's what we all needed. Emma is really talking to me, I know exactly how I feel about you, I get to see the exact way our life turned out."

"We should get home." Chuck gave a half-smile, checking his watch.

"Really? Because I was thinking that we could stay here just a bit longer." Sarah looked at Chuck with a mischievous grin. The last time he had seen that look was in a certain compartment on the bullet train.

"We are alone."

"We are."

"We do have this store all to ourselves."

"We do."

"Shall I escort you to my office?"

"You shall." Sarah kissed Chuck with everything she had. In a single moment, the drowning feeling that she had was relieved by a breath of fresh air. Chuck would always be her life vest in the vast ocean of problems that came her way. The only thing in the Buy More that night was love. Nothing but pure and unconditional love.

* * *

"Where did we see him last?" Emma looked to the large image of General Jones on the screen in the main room of the base.

"Hawaii. He has a time share in Maui."

"Why aren't we there yet?"

"As good of an operative as you are, Bartowski, you still have a citizen cover to keep in contact. Pulling you out of the state at this time would only disrupt your cover. I'll send a team to scope the island, and if something comes up I'll be sure to tell you." Jones clicked a button and disconnected the feed.

"Thought I'd find you here." Chuck's voice came from behind the teen.

"Someone has to keep looking." Emma grumbled.

"Why don't you take a break?"

"I can't dad, we have to find Quinn." The words created goosebumps on Chuck's skin. Another Quinn? How many times would the name come up in his life?

"And we have plenty of time for that. Yes, your mother's memories are temporarily gone, but she's not going anywhere."

"Easy for you to say, she knows who you are."

"She knows who you are too, Em."

"It's not the same."

"I'd sure hope not." Chuck laughed.

"Dad, this isn't funny. My mom is gone, my best friend betrayed me, and my boyfriend-" She stopped herself short. "Let's just say that I have a lot going on right now."

"Have you thought about going to see Ryan?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"If you miss him that much, maybe try doing something more than leaving a message. It's easy for him to decline a phone call, but how easy would it be for him to close a door on you?"

"Did you just give me advice about a boy?"

"I think I did." The two shared a bright smile. Emma got up and grabbed her coat, leaving the base. Before she had left the main room, she turned back around to face her dad.

"I see how you two look at each other. You're happy to have her back, aren't you?"

"No matter what version of her we have, she will always be my wife and she will always be your mother. But most importantly, I will always love her."

"That wasn't my question."

"I will do anything to get her memories back."

"I know." Emma gave a weak smile, and fully left the building. It didn't take her long to get to Ryan's house, as it was only about ten minutes from the base. She sat in her car for more than an hour, unsure of what to say. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked up to the front door. She knocked three times, only to come face to face with the boy who had helped her save her mother.

"Emma." He sounded surprised and confused.

"Hi Ryan." She smiled. "I know this is probably awkward, but I needed to see you. Did you get my messages?"

"You shouldn't be here." He looked over his shoulder then stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Because you haven't answered any of my calls."

"I've been kinda busy."

"Or returned any of them."

"Look, you should go. And you should stop calling." His face was stern.

"What the hell happened between saving my mom and now?"

"You should ask her."

"What?" Emma was genuinely confused.

"There's a lot you don't know about your family."

"Care you enlighten me?"

"My dad is going to kill you, Emma. You have to stay away from me."

"Why does he want me so bad?"

"Revenge, okay?" Ryan blurted with a yell.

"Revenge for what?"

"Just go."

"Revenge for what, Ryan?"

"Your mom is the one who murdered mine." He whispered.

"What?" Emma froze, unable to say anything that mattered.

"Please just go, I don't want him to hurt you." Ryan looked at Emma sympathetically, and walked back into the house, closing the door. Emma raced home, only thinking about what to say to her mother. Unfortunately, all of her civilly planned out segways left her mind as soon as she entered the house.

"What did you do?" She walked into the living room, immediately finding her mother.

"What are you talking about?" Sarah shared a look with Chuck before looking up at her daughter.

"You killed Ryan's mom."

"I what?"

"Em, why would you say that?" Chuck asked.

"She's the reason he stopped talking to me. She's the reason Pierce was coming after me in the first place."

"I don't remember."

"Well you better start trying." Emma stormed upstairs, leaving her parents to ponder the news. Life just couldn't stop throwing them curveballs.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! My goodness, it's been a while for this one, hasn't it? I'm sorry that I always end up going AWOL on my stories. But I guess that keeps the anticipation up for the next chapter, eh? ;) I'm hoping that this chapter is at least satisfactory, I had an itch to write so I decided to come back to it. I'm pretty proud of this one, as it's something I've been working on for quite some time now. Anyway, here's the newest chapter, and as always, enjoy.**

 **-Charahfan44**

* * *

Emma found herself at her base after the fall out with her parents. After any major situation, she always found herself there, pondering the things that led her to the underground lair in the first place. How could her mother keep such a major secret? I mean, sure she had lost her memories, but you'd think someone would remember murdering an innocent woman. And just when things had started to become good between the mother/daughter duo, too.

"You rang?" General Jones abruptly appeared on the monitor in front of Emma's face.

"Why does Ryan think that my mom killed his?"

"I don't know, and even if I did, you know I can't discuss it with you."

"This is the whole reason my mom lost her memories. Do you get that?" Emma felt herself becoming emotional. "Whatever you people had her do, got her into some serious trouble. So _you_ get to fix it."

"Bartowski, you're too close to this. I'm ordering you to back off. You're done."

"Excuse me?"

"Done, Bartowski. I'm putting you on probation until this is sorted out."

"You can't put me on probation, I'm the best you have."

"Not right now you're not. Get your stuff and go home. You're not allowed back here until I say otherwise."

"You're joking, right?"

"NOW." The General held a firm tone. Emma disconnected the line, rushing out of the base in a mess of emotions. She drove in a frenzy, unsure of where she would end up. Her mother killed someone in cold blood. Of course spies killed, but not innocents. Without her mother's memories to explain the events, there was nothing to think except that she had killed someone for no reason. She had killed a fellow mother for no reason. Emma wound up driving back home, something she never did. She didn't want to say something to make the situation worse.

"Where'd you go?" Sarah had waited up for her daughter.

"I really don't want to talk to you right now." Emma responded.

"Too bad, you don't have a choice."

"Mom, you killed someone! For no reason at all! Someone who meant something to people. A mother."

"I wouldn't...there has to have been a reason."

"But not one that you remember." Emma glared.

"I didn't ask for any of this."

"Yeah? Well neither did I."

"Give me a break, Em. You don't know what it's like to live a brand new life."

"And you don't know what it's like to live with a stranger. Woe is you, right? Boo hoo, poor Sarah, doesn't remember the past nineteen years. Get over it. You have kids, you have a damn good life, it's not like you're living in hell." Emma spat the words with a vigorous hatred.

"Wow. You know what? You're right. Maybe I shouldn't try to remember anything at all, I'm better off not knowing you." Sarah grabbed the keys to her car off the key hanger by the front door, and stormed out of the house. Emma stood in the doorway, realizing what she had just done.

"What was that about?" Chuck slowly came down the stairs from the second story.

"Mom and I kinda got into it."

"I heard."

"I don't know where she went."

"You know she's trying."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then cut her some slack. As hard as this is on you guys, it's ten times worse for her."

"It's harder for me than anyone else, dad. Not having my own mother know anything about me? And now I find out she killed my boyfriend's mom..."

"Did Jones know anything?"

"She suspended me."

"What? Why?" Chuck was genuinely confused.

"She said I'm too close to the case. She wants me to focus on my civilian life until she gives me the OK to join the team again."

"Well then, we'll work from here."

"No offense dad, but writing with a pen and paper on a desk isn't exactly helpful. We need technology and equipment."

"Lucky for you, there's a little something your mother and I have been working on. Take a drive with me?"

"Sure."

* * *

Sarah was like Emma in the aspect of driving off to a random place when emotional. Although with Sarah, she always ended up going back to the same places over and over. This time, she ended up at _the_ beach, the one where she had first gained Chuck's trust all those years ago. This was her place of solace, the place where she could think freely. Sitting in the sand connected her to the Earth, and listening to the crashing of the waves connected her to herself.

"Nice beach." A familiar voice sounded from behind. Sarah had no idea she was being followed, but kept the tough-spy charade with ease.

"Following me? I have to say I expected it." Sarah waited for the face of Ryan Pierce to appear in front of her.

"You're a hard woman to get alone, Sarah. I've been waiting for a while."

"You know, I used to always be by myself. But when you find someone who helps you create a family, it's hard to be alone." Her eyes flicked to the gun in his right hand. "What are you doing here exactly? Planning on killing me?"

"You killed my mom, didn't you? Why shouldn't I kill you?"

"Because you're a good guy."

"Good guys need revenge too."

"Look, Ryan, I don't know what happened. I get that it's frustrating, but how do you even really know it was me?"

"My dad saw you, don't pretend like you don't know. We both know you've already talked to your general, who probably told you that you're the one who pulled the trigger. But what your general probably didn't tell you was why."

"No, she didn't."

"So now here we are. You, unarmed, and me, ready to do to you what you did to my mom."

"You love my daughter, don't you?" This question shocked Ryan back into reality.

"Of course I do."

"Killing me would ruin that."

"You think I don't know that?" Ryan's voice escalated. "You really think that I wouldn't rather be with her right now, than here with you? It hurts. Knowing that her mother killed mine. But here we are, and I've been waiting to get here."

"I'm going to find out what happened."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really." Sarah's look softened as she stood up to level with the kid. "You don't know me, Ryan. I wouldn't kill a woman in cold blood, even if it was my mission. Maybe when I first started out I would have, but I've learned a lot since then."

"I miss my mom." His grip loosened.

"I know how you feel."

"Your mom is dead?"

"No, but I had to cut all ties with her. This business ruins lives."

"It should've been him." Ryan mumbled.

"Who?"

"My dad. He should've been the one who died. He's a terrible person, down to the core."

"I'm sure he loves you."

"You'd think that, right?"

"Parents love their children no matter what, trust me."

"Trust you? That's a joke, right?"

"Will you help me figure out why I killed your mom?"

"What?" Ryan was confused by her question.

"If it was for no reason, I'll give myself over to you. But if it was for a cause, we need to put this to bed."

"Why?"

"Because I need to know if I've changed, or if I'm the same person I was when I started this career." Sarah looked down at her feet in the sand.

"Either way, you killed her."

"But wouldn't you like to know _why_?"

"I'm not afraid to kill you."

"Then do it." Sarah stared into Ryan's eyes as he lifted the gun. She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes, and prayed for the first time in her life.

* * *

Chuck and Emma didn't talk much on the way to his surprise location. She kept her gaze out the passenger side window.

"Here we are." Chuck said, pulling the car into a parking space.

"The Buy More?" Emma asked with an attitude.

"The Buy More." Chuck sighed with pride.

"Why would you take me to the Buy More?"

"Because, it's going to help us."

"How?"

"Would you quit asking questions and follow me?" Chuck got out of the car, and Emma followed. When she was younger, she loved coming to the store and spending the day with her parents, running around the store.

"This place creeps me out at night, dad." Emma crossed her arms as her father opened the front doors.

"I love it." He smiled at his daughter.

"Yeah, because you're weird."

"Runs in the family." He laughed. Chuck led Emma past the electronics section and into the break room.

"Take a look at the lockers. Notice anything?"

"No?" Emma inspected them closely.

"Notice the crack in between those two?" He pointed to a small sliver in between the middle two lockers.

"Uh, sure."

"Open that one." He pointed again to one of the lockers. Emma opened it with one swift movement, exposing the normality of an employee's things.

"I don't get it."

"Behind the photo in the back." Chuck said. Emma peeled back the picture, finding a control panel. "Eighteen thirty-four." Emma pressed the numbers, and the lockers clicked apart.

"What the hell?" She looked down a long staircase.

"Go ahead." Chuck urged. Emma walked down the stairs slowly, finding a spy base at the bottom.

"Dad! You can't have a base here!"

"Of course I can, I own the Buy More don't I?"

"But this taps into the government database."

"With the help of General Jones it does."

"What?"

"The people she answers to are nervous about you."

"Nervous about me?"

"You're the top agent they have, but you could also be used as a negative asset to other organizations. They've been keeping an eye on you, and she wanted you to take a step back for your own good. However, she thinks that our closeness to this case can help get your mom's memories back, so she helped us set this up."

"Mom set this up too?"

"I know you better than you think." Sarah's voice echoed from the top of the staircase.

"How'd you know we were here?" Chuck asked.

"Emma's phone."

"You traced it?" Emma asked.

"Of course, I'm your mother." Sarah smiled.

"Look, mom..."

"We can talk later, there's someone here that wants to talk to you." She stepped aside to make room for Ryan to come down the stairs.

"Ryan?"

"In the flesh." He forced a smile, keeping his eyes on Emma.

"Chuck? I could use you up here." Sarah gave her husband a look.

"Right." He headed back up the stairs and followed his wife to the main Nerd Herd desk of the Buy More. "Is it safe to leave her alone with him?"

"More than you know." Sarah responded. In the base, Emma couldn't find the words to say to Ryan. The last time she saw him, he slammed a door in her face, what was she supposed to say now?

"I know this is weird." He said.

"Weird? No. I mean, you hate me but here you are." Emma forced a laugh.

"I don't hate you."

"You hate my family."

"Do you blame me? Your mom-"

"Killed your mom, I'm aware."

"I didn't come here to argue about our parents."

"Then why did you come? And why the hell were you with my mom?"

"That's kind of a long story."

"We have time."

"I just wanted to see you." He avoided the subject of Sarah.

"Why?"

"Because I miss you, and because I love you."

"You can't love me and want my mom dead, Ryan."

"I know."

"So what is this? Goodbye?"

"Not exactly. I'm going to help her figure out what happened."

"You're going to help my mom?"

"I have to. I need to know just as badly as she does."

"So what does this mean for us?" Emma looked Ryan straight in the eyes.

"It means that we can work together."

"But not be together."

"Emma, this is a seriously twisted situation. I don't know how to be with you. I want to, I just don't know if I can."

"I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yes. Really, I do."

"Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? Ry, _you_ should have to forgive _me_. My mom ruined your life."

"Do you think she actually did it? Killed someone for no reason?"

"I don't know what to believe at this point." Emma knew the words were true. She didn't think her mother was capable of cold blooded murder, but at this point, anything could be the truth. She needed to find the cure to her mother's memories as soon as possible.


End file.
